Return to Hogwarts
by Emiko
Summary: One crazy girl, one grumpy Potions professor... Read at your own risk. (Re-post from deleted FF.net category.)
1. the Return

Return to Hogwarts  
  
Um, I refuse to explain it. Either read it and like it for some reason or don't. It goes along with my comic the Elf and I. Which is really just about the stories in my head, I suppose. So that's all this is. A story in my head. Reference to some events practically no one knows about, i.e. my first "visit" to Hogwarts. I won't say exactly what happened there. You might be able to figure out some of it.  
  
------  
  
Severus Snape was sitting in his office. It wasn't that he particularly wanted to be there, he just was. He had to be. His papers wouldn't grade themselves.  
  
Actually, there was probably a spell for that somewhere.  
  
Then again, if there was, it was probably fraught with errors and outlawed by Dumbledore. Snape let out a large, weary sigh. Somehow, somewhere, he had let himself fall into this terrible drudgery and it was now his life. Where had he gone wrong? Oh, yes, there was that entire thing about being a Death-Eater. That probably accounted for a good deal of it. Snape rubbed the mark on his arm agitatedly. He had made a mistake. A huge mistake. A mistake he would be paying for the rest of his life, however short that may be. Snape was not a very optimistic man on the subject. He knew just as well as Dumbledore that Voldemort was returning, and that spelled trouble. Life-threatening trouble.  
  
As Snape let his mind wander, the stack of papers gradually grew smaller until a mere handful remained. He was now working on Harry Potter's paper, meticulously looking for even the tiniest of mistakes with which to punish Potter. Oh, how he hated the boy. Oh, how he envied him.  
  
The hairs on the back of Snape's neck began to prickle. At first, Snape thought of Voldemort, but this was different. It was an odd, magical sensation, and one he had felt only once before.  
  
As if on cue, a small ball of light appeared in the space between Snape's desk and the doorway. Snape instantly sat up, eyes widening and mouth dropping open in surprise and dread. No, it couldn't possibly be, not again- -  
  
The ball of light expanded quickly, bloating to the size of a person in the blink of an eye. Indeed, within moment a person had come hurtling through the blue-white portal, spilling out onto Snape's floor as the portal snapped shut behind her. Snape rose to his feet, ready to call out in alarm, or for help, or in an attempt to drive the intruder back form whence he had came. He found himself at a loss for words and merely managed a half- strangled, "You!"  
  
The girl on the ground sat up. She seemed mostly unharmed for having fallen on the floor so roughly. Her short brown hair was in a state of disarray and her glasses sat askew on her face. Large blue eyes blinked in surprise. "Wh--where--I don't believe it."  
  
Snape finally regained enough of his senses to point a crooked finger at the girl and growl in anger, "You! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Pruh-Professor!" the girl exclaimed in reply. She glanced about the room a few times to make sure it was real and scrambled to her feet. There, about a meter away from Snape, she stood in seeming shock with her mouth falling open. A stray tendril of hair tucked itself into the corner of her mouth.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Snape demanded once again. "I told you I won't go with you, and I haven't changed my mind!" His accusing finger had dropped back down to his side and been balled into a fist.  
  
The girl did not reply at first, gazing at him in awe. Then, she wavered in the air as if to fall and her eyes filed with tears. She did fall, but not to the ground. She fell forward onto Snape, grabbing his robes and wailing, her grip as solid as an iron shackle. "Oh, Professor, I'm so glad I found you! I thought I'd be lost forever!"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Snape asked, trying to pull the girl off himself. He succeeded only because she opened her hands and stepped back by herself.  
  
"It's terrible, Professor! The dimensional chorus -- the barrier -- is broken! And we're all lost! I can't figure out how to get home, and we all get thrown to different times and places. I--you should have seen the last one, it was horrid. It's--it's just too much!"  
  
For a moment, Snape wondered just what had been going on. This was not the same confident, exuberant girl he had met on a prior night, a girl who had kissed him on the forehead and told him she'd understood why he never washed his hair. And she'd been right. Still, he couldn't help but to be angry with her for returning after he had asked her to leave.  
  
The girl moved over and sat down in the chair in front of Snape's desk, rubbing at her reddened eyes. She seemed so small. Snape wondered if there was any way for him to explain this to Dumbledore. He crossed his arms and looked down at her disdainfully, awaiting some sort of explanation.  
  
As if sensing what is was he wanted, the girl took a deep breath and began to speak. "It was all pretty routine, really. We were supposed to be heading home, and then something went wrong. We don't know what. Now we're hurtling through the dimensions with no control over where we go. Last time I was with Daerinnid, but I can't find Kancho. So I have to keep on going until I do. I--Kancho is like a father to me, I can't bear to be without him like this! I really want to go home! I'm sorry, I know you don't want me back here, but please understand it wasn't my fault... I'm lost, we're all lost..."  
  
Naturally, Snape understood little of the girl's rambling, but he did understand that she was a dimension-traveler. That much she had said the first time the had met. Now she was lost? "I don't know what to do, I really don't. Please say I can stay here with you for a little while? I don't want to go out there again!"  
  
Aha, so that was what she wanted. No mercy. Snape scowled at her. "No, you may not stay here. Now kindly remove yourself from this room." The way he said the word "kindly" sounded like pure acid.  
  
"Oh, but please, Professor! I'm lost! I want to go home, but this is the closest I've gotten so far. Please say I can stay, just for a little bit?"  
  
"No!"  
  
She looked away. "Kruh-krill jist trannik vrail denvrek, shtivannis! Krailge vannis solbrandr distremdashkrtik, jilfrankbrin sholast kilvahin."  
  
Her words did not seem to make sense, but the meaning ate its way into Snape's brain. It was nearly impossible for him to put into words the multitude of ideas and images her strange language conveyed, but he was able to get enough sense of it to reply in a shaken voice, "I've never heard, no, felt anything like that before. How did you..."  
  
"It's the language Kancho and I speak. Part circumstance, part instinct, but I think you see now that I really do know you better than anyone else and I don't mean you any harm. I just want a warm bed and some food. You don't know how hard it's been to get food. So, please, Professor."  
  
Despite the lingering of the strange thoughts from those words, Snape still shook his head. "No. I could never explain this to Dumbledore and I don't want you here."  
  
"Just give me a chance! Please?"  
  
"No! Now get out!"  
  
"Vril strik kannkil volstannr triskvrindalir nek. Elpre djran krevltenhorhim zhevyelkornan." Snape was reminded of the biblical line this time. Though I walk in the shadow of the valley of death, she seemed to say. There was something about outer space as well, and something about how cold she was. And the hair was in there, too.  
  
"Self-loathing doesn't help anyone, Severus, least of all you. Don't I deserve at least one chance? I know I can make a difference, I can! Just give me a chance. I'll leave if you really want me to, but you don't, do you? You, like me, crave understanding, but are too afraid to open up to get it because you think everyone will hate you, and that they already do. And perhaps you're right. Maybe everyone here does hate you, but I don't. Take a chance, just this once, and I swear to you that you won't regret it. It'll be hard, because it's never easy, but then, all the best things in life are hard. And I think you'll find I'm not really as annoying a brat as I seem."  
  
This was her, the girl he had met on that night months ago, the girl who had pressed him into promising that he would live, the girl who had the audacity to kiss a man she had never met before on the forehead. She had gone from a sobbing mess to a serious confidence in the space of mere moments. Snape had to admit he was a little awed, and just as before, she was right. His face bore an expression that lay somewhere between confusion, curiosity, fear, and helplessness.  
  
Now the girl was standing and approaching him slowly. Snape did not move. She reached a hand out, letting it hang in midair between them. "Please trust someone. If not me, then who? I bear you no malice or grudge. I'm just tired and cold and hungry. We can help each other I think."  
  
Regardless of the intention behind the motion and his willingness at this point to accept it, it was not in Snape's disposition to accept such an invitation by reaching his own hand out. So the girl didn't truly know everything about him, did she?  
  
Then again, the girl withdrew her hand and smiled. "Thank you."  
  
Surprise reigned once again. "For what? I haven't done anything for you."  
  
"Yes, you have. You haven't kicked me out. You've accepted my invitation."  
  
"I have not!" he said indignantly.  
  
"Yes, you have. I can see it in your eyes."  
  
Snape gave a haughty, "Hmmph," and looked down his nose at her. His gaze wasn't cruel, but it wasn't friendly either. It had settled into a look of cold neutrality. An emotionless mask to hide behind. The girl wasn't phased and merely smiled again.  
  
"Well, I guess now we'll have to go and talk to Dumbledore about my accommodations."  
  
Snape sneered, knowing full well that simply walking up to Dumbledore, introducing yourself and asking to stay at Hogwarts was never going to work, no matter how congenial Dumbledore was. Albus was still the headmaster, and letting anyone who walked up and asked to stay at Hogwarts was simply not conducive to the running of the school.  
  
"What's with that face you're making?" the girl frowned. "You don't think I can do that?"  
  
"Dumbledore is no fool. You simply can't walk up and ask to stay here at Hogwarts. This is a school, not a hotel."  
  
"You sound like you've got molten lava on your tongue," the girl blithely observed, "and I'm not just going to walk up and ask for a room. We're going to walk up and tell him I'm your niece."  
  
"I don't have a niece."  
  
"Then we'll tell him I'm your mother's cousin's daughter. Just close enough to have a real relation without being easily traceable. And it would explain why nobody's ever heard of me. Who talks about their mother's cousin's daughter?"  
  
Snape was certain there was an easier term for that, but not actually having such a relative, he had no idea what it was. He let his upper lip curl into a look of disgust.  
  
"That settles it, then. Let's go." The girl made for the door then stopped. "Well? You coming? I can't very well get there myself, I need you to lead the way."  
  
After a moment's pause Snape turned on his heel and followed her out the door. He walked briskly past her and down the corridors and stairwells that led to Dumbledore's office. The girl looked like she would have dearly loved to examine the furnishings more closely, so Snape put an extra ounce of speed into his step and forced her shorter legs to stumble and trip along behind him in a half-run. She did not complain.  
  
"Cheese doodle."  
  
The gargoyle twisted and turned, revealing the way up to the Headmaster's office. The girl gave a small giggle at the password and Snape's face twisted even further into distaste. He stomped his way up the steps and rapped furiously on the door.  
  
"Yes? Come in."  
  
Snape opened the door and stormed through without bothering to consider the girl behind him at all. The door nearly hit her in the face.  
  
"Oh? Who's this?" Dumbledore inquired instantly upon spotting an unfamiliar face.  
  
"This is my," Snape began before being quickly interrupted.  
  
"My name's Emperial Teal Atreipie, but you can call me Em. Pleased to meet you! Uncle Severus has told me so much about you, Headmaster Dumbledore, and it's a real honor!" Her hand shot out over Dumbledore's desk, where it was intercepted by the headmaster's spindly hand and gently shaken.  
  
"Uncle?" Dumbledore lightly inquired. "Severus never mentioned he had a niece."  
  
"Ah, I'm not his niece, really. My granddad and Uncle Severus's mom are cousins."  
  
Under his breath, Severus corrected, "Were." The mark on his arm flared up momentarily, though it may just have been his imagination.  
  
"I see," Dumbledore replied, an eyebrow raising quizzically in Snape's direction. Snape looked like he as about ready to throw himself out the window. "And what, pray tell, my dear, are you doing here at Hogwarts?"  
  
"Why, I'm here to visit Uncle Severus, of course! My school is on holiday."  
  
"Lallinum," Snape supplied, regretting helping as soon as the word flew from his mouth.  
  
"Oh, my, that's in South Africa, isn't it?"  
  
A quick glance at Snape confirmed it was, so Em nodded.  
  
"I hope it's not an inconvenience, I kind of dropped in unannounced, I'm afraid. My parents dropped me off on their way to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia."  
  
"Oh, no, not at all, my dear!" Dumbledore chuckled and his eyes twinkled with merriment. The girl's plan had worked, or so it seemed. "Severus, why didn't you tell me of this delightful young lady before? She is positively enchanting." At that, Em blushed and giggled nervously. Now Snape looked like he really was going to jump out the window. "There is the problem of where you shall stay, of course."  
  
"I'll just stay with Uncle Severus!" she beamed as if that were the most obvious idea ever.  
  
"I think not," Snape glowered.  
  
"No, that wouldn't be appropriate at all. Since your uncle is head of House Slytherin, though, I'm sure a bed can be arranged for you in the girl's dormitory there."  
  
Disappointment registered on Em's face and just as quickly departed. "Sure, that sounds fine to me. Oh, ah, when do you eat around here? I'm really hungry."  
  
"Dinner shall be in half an hour."  
  
"Great! I guess I should wait to find a bed until after, then. I'd like to see the school a bit more, if that's okay with you." The last request was directed at Snape, Em turning to face him with a hopeful look on her face.  
  
"I have papers to grade," Snape replied simply. Dumbledore waved at her reassuringly.  
  
"Yes, your 'uncle' is quite a busy man. But I would be glad to have someone else show you around the school in the meantime. I'd do it myself, but I'm afraid I have important matters to attend to. Why don't you take Miss -- ah, Atreipie, was it? -- downstairs and see if you can find a free student."  
  
Snape was all-too-eager to move to open the door.  
  
"Thank you very much, Headmaster Dumbledore! I look forward to seeing you at dinner, then."  
  
"Indeed! Good day."  
  
"See you later!" Em called as she bounded down the steps. Snape threw an unfathomable look to Dumbledore before turning and following the bouncing girl back out into the corridor. Once they were outside, the girl turned to Snape and grinned, "See? I told you it would work."  
  
"I still think you should leave now before someone finds out the truth."  
  
"But I can't!" she protested. "I can't even manifest a portal at the moment, I'm stuck here."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I told you the chorus is broken, and I don't have the device to make portals, and if the chorus is broken I can't very well sing my way out, can I?"  
  
Snape was growing more and more annoyed. "What are you babbling about?"  
  
"Don't I get a school tour? Take me somewhere to find a tour guide and I'll tell you along the way." Snape growled a bit under his breath but complied. "It's all dimensional physics, you see," the girl continued, "and the chorus is what we call the resonance of strings. Strings are what the universe is made up of, tiny little strings. They're the stuff of atoms. Now, by 'singing,' I mean changing the resonance frequency of the strings to change dimensions. All things are parallel in a way, and next to each other, so by changing the local resonance of the strings it's possible to form a portal to another dimension. Do you follow?"  
  
Snape didn't really, but grunted at her to continue.  
  
"Now, my son Talos developed a machine, a device that could change this local resonance. In his dimension, you see, they have a very close parallel neighbor, but he was able to modify the machine so that it would have a broader effect and allow travel between all dimensions, in theory at least. And our minds can perceive resonances, it's part of the imagination. So I can use the machine to travel to things that have been imagined by people in my home dimension because it's only a few resonancies away. And your dimension is one such. It's never perfect, though, as there are infinite dimensions and it's all tempered by my self-resonancy, so I can't get everyone. My own resonance dictates I can only go to so many places, and limits the number of accessible dimensions. But I've got an above-average understanding of it and there's a good thousand million of places I can go, all distinct and unique. So you see, I can only ever visit one Hogwarts and not the infinite Hogwarts that exist, all tempered by my imagination. In any event, at the moment I'm stuck, because the chorus is broken and manifestation is off. I have to wait for a portal to come and then I can open it."  
  
At that, the girl seemed to have finished, and Snape had reached a feasible destination. He pointed straight to a group of three people and said, "Potter, Granger, and Weasley." The girl's eyes widened.  
  
"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley?" Snape ignored her. He figured the least he could do was to force her off on Potter and his group of friends. Let her annoy them for a bit.  
  
"Come here," Snape continued, beckoning the three forward. "This is a relative of mine. You are to show her around the school." While Em looked at them in awe, Snape whirled about and stomped off to his office to finish looking for mistakes in Harry's paper.  
  
Ron grinned at the retreating Snape. "Wonder what's got his greasy head in a rut?"  
  
"Hey!" Em exclaimed. "Don't make fun of the Professor's hair!"  
  
Hermione elbowed Ron to remind him that they still had Snape's relative standing in front of them. "I'm Hermione Granger," she said, "and these are- -"  
  
"Harry Potter and Ron Weasley!" Em finished for her. "Pleased to meet you all! I'm Emperial Teal Atreides-Piett, but you can just call me Em. My full name's a little bit unwieldy, you know?"  
  
"I'll say," quipped Ron.  
  
"Where are you from?" asked Harry.  
  
"Oh, I attend Lallinum, it's in South Africa."  
  
"Blimey," said Ron.  
  
"We're on vacation, so I've come to visit Uncle Severus while my parents are busy."  
  
"Snape is your uncle?" inquired Harry.  
  
"Well, my dad and his mother are cousins. So not really. But it's easier to say."  
  
"Ol' crook-nose got himself a family!" Ron whistled appreciatively.  
  
"His never mentioned it," Hermione supplied.  
  
Em nodded a bit sadly. "He's really not the type."  
  
Noting Em's sudden melancholy, Harry said, "You wanted to see the school?" Em brightened instantly.  
  
"Oh, yes! I've heard so much about it! All the paintings and ghosts and moving staircases!"  
  
"Doesn't your school have those things, too?"  
  
"Oh, but this is Hogwarts!" Em answered as it that made all the difference. In truth, she wasn't sure whether or not Lallinum had such things.  
  
Harry grinned. "Well, there's not much time before dinner, but we can take you up to House Gryffindor. We were just heading there ourselves."  
  
"Oh, Uncle Severus didn't interrupt you from doing something, did he?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but we're used to it." Ron gave a lopsided smile to show that there were no hard feelings over the matter.  
  
"We'd better get moving or we won't have enough time get up there and back for dinner," Hermione reminded them.  
  
"Come on, this way."  
  
So Em followed the trio up the staircases and down the staircases, listening to what little commentary Harry could afford to give her. They did seem to be in a hurry. At last they were in front of the Fat Lady guarding Gryffindor, and here they stopped. Harry, Hermione, and Ron exchanged nervous looks.  
  
"Oh, it'll be okay, just this once," Ron said, and Em realized they were nervous about saying the password in front of her.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone what it is!" At that, Harry smiled.  
  
"____," said Hermione. The painting swung open and they walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.  
  
Instantly upon entering, someone asked, "Hey, who's that with you there, Harry?"  
  
"This is Em, she's staying at Hogwarts for a bit."  
  
"She's a relative of Snape's," Ron said, though it was uncertain whether he was trying to be helpful or just the opposite. Em stuck her tongue out at him.  
  
"Ro-on," Hermione said reproachfully. Ron just grinned.  
  
Harry interrupted before anyone took the teasing too far. "If you'll wait here a moment, we have to get some books. Feel free to make yourself comfortable. We'll be back down in a minute and head down for dinner."  
  
"Sure thing! Thanks for the tour, Harry. It was a pleasure meeting all of you."  
  
"Hey, can you say something in South African?" Ron asked quickly.  
  
"Uhm, that's not a language..."  
  
"Come on, Ron!" Hermione practically dragged him up the stairs.  
  
Em looked around at the Common Room, examining every inch of it. The room was currently occupied by three Griffyndor boys and two girls. Em smiled at them as her eyes swept past. It was hardly the most generous acknowledgment, but she was too busy trying to soak up all the visual information. Who'd have thought she, Emperial Teal Atreides-Piett, would ever be standing here, the Common Room of House Gryffindor?  
  
There was the sound of footsteps on the stairwell signaling the return of Harry, Hermione, and Ron. The three were carrying tomes of impressive size. "We just need to bring these back to the library and then we'll go to dinner," Harry explained.  
  
"Sure thing."  
  
-----  
  
When at last they made it to the dining hall it was amidst a throng of hungry students. Em found herself pushed forward with the crowd and barely managed to maintain contact with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She walked halfway up the room with them before stopping short.  
  
Snape was sitting up at the teachers' table. Their eyes locked. Snape was looking characteristically unhappy, as if he had swallowed a dead rat. Em kept her gaze steady and firm, her mouth pulling into a serious frown, her body unmoved by the students pushing past her. A tall student walked between them, breaking the contact, and it was then that Em noticed Dumbledore, who was also looking at her, albeit far more happily. He waved a hand towards an empty chair next to Snape and nodded at her.  
  
Em cut through the crowd expertly, ducking and weaving her way up to the front of the room. After a short mental debate as to how best to reach the proffered seat, she chose the most direct route and scurried underneath the table, popping up in the chair next to Snape to the chagrined frowns of the nearby professors. Dumbledore looked like he was having a hard time controlling his mirth.  
  
"I hope you had fun," Snape said acidly.  
  
"Oh, yes. Harry and his friends were most helpful, though you know of course that they don't like you very much."  
  
Snape looked like he was about ready to throttle Em. She turned to face him.  
  
"You haven't really given them any reason to think otherwise," she pointed out, her voice cold. "But if it's any consolation, Harry doesn't hate you nearly as much as you hate him. I guess that means your... idea of self-definition isn't quite working. Or is it the opposite? Hrm, I don't know."  
  
"No, you don't," Snape said, and that was that. Dumbledore signaled for momentary quiet, made some announcements neither Em nor the glowering Snape heard, and food appeared on the table before them.  
  
Both Em and Snape were very silent the first part of the meal. Snape pushed food around on his plate and Em dug into hers with a ferocity akin to someone who had just been rescued from a desert island and had not eaten for years. Her plate was clean in less than ten minutes, at which point she turned to Snape and said, "Eat something, Severus, it's not going to change anything. Not you, not me, not them. Well, it'll make you hungry later if you don't, but that's no skin off anyone else's back."  
  
"Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself?" he sneered.  
  
"Hear this, then. You've got a perfectly good plate of food in front of you while children are starving on the other side of the world in less misery than you. And at least someone cares enough to give you food and ask you to eat. I don't always get that much consideration. Try going to bed hungry because nobody cares enough about you to spare two minutes to make you some food. It's even worse than going to bed hungry because you yourself don't care."  
  
Now Snape was looking even more caustic. The professor sitting on the other side of Em had thankfully chosen to ignore their conversation.  
  
"Will we ever get along, do you think?" Em mused. "We're too similar. Personality clash. Or maybe it's because we're frightened of one another?"  
  
"I don't have to listen to this," Snape said suddenly and stood.  
  
"Sit down and eat, Severus."  
  
"Don't call me that," he hissed, well aware that he had attracted Dumbledore's attention now and had to be careful. He turned in a flurry of black robes and stormed out the side of the room. Em frowned after him.  
  
"Is anything wrong?"  
  
Dumbledore was leaning over the table and looking down at her. Em shook her head.  
  
"Uncle Severus isn't feeling very well. If you'll excuse me a moment, I think I'll get him something from the kitchens."  
  
"One of the elves can do it," Dumbledore replied.  
  
"No, I think I'd better do it myself. I'm sorry, Headmaster." She bowed her head and pushed away from the table.  
  
"You'll need someone to take you. Wait a moment, and I'll come with you."  
  
"Oh, no, you're still eating--"  
  
"The food will not be going anywhere. Not tonight, anyway. Sometimes it does get up and run!"  
  
Em giggled, but she had a feeling she had made a bit too much of a scene today in her haste to reach Severus. Some things had to be done more slowly. Her mind wandered back to Doug for a moment, and how she had failed with him. She didn't want to fail again, but she wasn't certain she had enough time here to do things as slow as was required, so she had been pushing it a little hard today. Not everything I say has to be important, she reminded herself. Perhaps Dumbledore could even be of help. In any event, she followed the old man willingly back to the kitchens.  
  
"Now, what was it you wanted from here?" Dumbledore asked.  
  
"I'm... hrm, I'm not really sure. The kind of thing a concerned mother would make. But not something too boisterous, something a bit subdued, like soup, only not so plain. Something that shows a lot of love."  
  
"My, that is a hard one."  
  
"Like a cake! Only that's very loud. A piece of pound cake, at least, plain and unadorned. And, um, a mug of hot tea and a sandwich? No, not a sandwich." Em tried to think back over all the things her mother had made her, but, failing that, thought of Max. "Casserole?" She chanced a glance over at Dumbledore, who was chuckling in amusement. Then she found herself laughing at the absurdity of it. "I guess my mother never really made me the kind of thing I'm looking for. And neither has Max... Oh! I know! Why didn't I think of it sooner? My dad's the best at making care foods! Umm, umm... Maybe I should stick with the soup. It doesn't have to be so plain, right? Like how about Chinese-style soup with dumplings? Not pork 'cause it's icky, but maybe shrimp or chicken would be fine. Whichever you think he'd like best. Oh! And half a pomegranate in a small bowl. That's for me, though."  
  
"Very well, well, then," Dumbledore concluded, relaying the condensed version of her request to the kitchen elves. It was a very brief wait, as the elves returned almost immediately with a tray. Em thanked them, but upon noticing their reluctance, remembered house elves had trouble with things like that and followed Dumbledore apologetically out the door.  
  
Down and up and through the corridors they went, Dumbledore making what clearly passed for recreational conversation.  
  
"So, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"  
  
"Oh, it's wonderful! Everything I thought it'd be. And more! I never thought I get to see this place."  
  
"Well, your 'uncle' does work here, so surely it didn't seem as remote as possibility as you make it out to be."  
  
"Oh, um, I guess it's not really. But still. It's pretty cool."  
  
"Tell me, you sound more American than anything else," Dumbledore prompted. Em quickly turned several shades of red.  
  
"My family's American, I just live in South Africa. They travel a lot and liked it best down there. To make a difference in the social situation. There's a lot of tension, you know." Em gave a silent prayer of thanks to Time magazine.  
  
"Ah, yes, indeed."  
  
Before Dumbledore could open up a new can of worms a hideous laugher began to echo down the hall. "I know someone who shouldn't be heeeere!" a voice rang out. Em yelped in surprise and grabbed hold of Dumbledore's sleeve, nearly causing the headmaster to drop the tray of food he was carrying. Dumbledore never flinched.  
  
"Peeves!" he cried, his voice feeble in comparison. "Show yourself!"  
  
A very strange looking creature floated up from the floor. Em knew from the books that Peeves was more or less harmless, tending to the lesser side, and that she would be fine as long as she was with Dumbledore, but she had never seen a creature quite like Peeves and was rapidly succumbing to irrational fear. Peeves began to roll around in the air as he cackled at them.  
  
"What do you want, Peeves?"  
  
"I know someone who shouldn't be heeeere," Peeves repeated. He stopped spinning and abruptly shouted, "You!" His arm shot out towards Em and she recoiled.  
  
"Eep!"  
  
"Begone and cause no more trouble today!"  
  
"Peeves is not causing trouble, Peeves is helping. Peeves knows something Fumbledork doesn't! Ahahaha! Does Headmistress want to know what it is? Hmm?"  
  
"Not particularly," Dumbledore muttered, causing Peeves to break out in more peals of laughter.  
  
"Peeves will tell Dumb-elf-dork, yes? Peeves had heard something! Something good, something juicy, something important! Something to tell the Ministry of Magic! For it is so big Peeves cannot keep it to himself!"  
  
"Get to the point!"  
  
"Peeves has heard the girl and the nasty potions professor talking, and Peeves knows that the girl is not supposed to be here. Peeves has seen her teleport inside Hog-farts! Ohoho!"  
  
Em had regained her composure and was on the offensive now. "Don't be silly, no one can apparate inside Hogwarts. Everyone knows that."  
  
"But Peeves has seen this! And Peeves knows, yes, Peeves knows..."  
  
"Oh, shoo," Em said, waving her hand at Peeves. "You're just annoying. You don't really want to bother us, do you?" Though she spoke dismissively, there was a wavering hint of uncertainty in her voice.  
  
A moment passed, Peeves face suddenly growing confused.  
  
"No," Em continued, "you want to go bother that Draco Malfoy fellow's friends, Crabbe and Goyle."  
  
Peeves shot off like a rocket, presumably to wherever Crabbe and Goyle were.  
  
"Most impressive," Dumbledore remarked. "I saw no magic."  
  
"Oh, it's not magic, really. You just have to know how to talk to creatures like that! It's, uh, kinda a talent I have for getting points across."  
  
"Like the point you 'got across' to Severus at the dinner table?"  
  
Em's mouth fell open. "Urgh," she gurgled, unable to come up with a reply.  
  
Dumbledore quickly realized he would be unable to get anything from her at this moment in time. "We should keep moving or the food will get cold," he conceded, and they went on.  
  
Whatever spring had been in Em's step at the beginning of this adventure had all but disappeared now. Her feet dragged all the way to Professor Snape's office door. Dumbledore motioned for her to be quiet a moment as he knocked on the door with his elbow. "Severus?" his voice rang out, sounding very much like the peals of a church bell.  
  
(Odd, thought Emperial. She so rarely made positive church comparisons in her mind.)  
  
"Go away!"  
  
"Severus, do open the door. My hands are tied at the moment."  
  
At that moment there was a cry of some sort and Snape rushed for his door. "Albus, I didn't realize--" His eyes fell on Em. "You."  
  
"This young lady and I have brought you some food. The lady's idea, I must add. Might we come in?"  
  
Snape looked like he would very much have liked to throw them both out--out the window, that is. He snarled but stepped aside to allow Dumbledore to pass. Em followed sheepishly on the Headmaster's tail.  
  
"Professor, sir, I'm sorry. I just wanted to say that. I shouldn't have been so forthcoming with my opinions. It was rude of me. Please accept my apologies?"  
  
"And why should I?"  
  
"Because--Because I'll be really sad if you don't!" she blurted. Her voice quickly lowered. "Then again, you'd probably like that, wouldn't you? It'd make you feel that much better for having made me feel worse. So I guess you don't really have to. Whatever makes you happy."  
  
Why, her nerve. Whatever made him happy! Neither option seemed particularly appealing now, so he chose a third and ignored her apology completely. "Well, don't just stand there in the door, come in or go out!"  
  
Looking moderately happy, Em ducked her head and scurried for the tray on the table, removing from it the bowl with the pomegranate. Dumbledore had already seated himself in a chair and was munching on a bag of cheese doodles he had produced from somewhere in the recesses of his robes.  
  
Snape had to admit that the food did look good. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had brought him something like this. (It involved his mother, though, which meant he didn't care to try and remember at all.) Noticing Snape hadn't moved from the door, Em gave him a pleading look and motioned to his chair, in front of which the tray of food was resting. Snape reluctantly returned to his desk and sat. He even picked up the spoon and began to sip at his soup.  
  
"Well, Severus," Dumbledore began. "Or should I say, well, Miss Atreipie, for you are the one with whom I am concerned at the moment."  
  
Em stuck a pomegranate seed in her mouth and began to suck noisily, her curious eyes locked on Dumbledore. "Me?"  
  
"Yes, though it does also involve Professor Snape, whose motives I must deign to question at this time."  
  
What little progress Snape had made on the soup was stopped instantly as the Potions professor tensed.  
  
"You both have greatly disappointed me, you in particular, Severus. I have known you but a few short hours, Miss Atreipie, so cannot say I had many expectations." Dumbledore's eyebrows were raised high in a cross between amusement and incredulity. "Is it an acceptable thing to lie to your headmaster, Severus? Or, more as I hope I am, your friend? And you, Miss Atreipie, did you honestly think your digressions would go unnoticed?"  
  
"Urgh." Em looked at Snape for help but found none.  
  
"Now, if the two of you would kindly explain yourselves..."  
  
"It was me, Headmaster, not Professor Snape! It was all me! I thought it'd work, though..."  
  
Quietly, Snape said, "It was stupid to think you could outwit Albus Dumbledore."  
  
Em suddenly found herself faces with two hostile authority figures. "Yes, it was, wasn't it?" she stammered. "But I had to try! I can't leave, not now, you know that! And I know you know, because I know you heard me back when I was Speaking to you. And..." Her voice grew soft. "And I know you don't like me, Professor, but still, I only wanted to help. I had the best intentions."  
  
"Forgive me," Dumbledore interrupted, "but what is the problem at hand here and what does it have to do with what Peeves said?"  
  
"Peeves?" Snape echoed.  
  
"Yes, he--he saw us. Or saw me, at least. When I first arrived here. And he said as much to Pro--Headmaster Dumbledore in the hallway."  
  
Dumbledore leaned forward. "Young lady, it is extremely dangerous to teleport to and from Hogwarts, and I must know how you did it for the safety of the students. In addition, I'm afraid I must report you to the Ministry of Magic."  
  
"Oh, but I didn't--I mean, you're worried about Harry and Voldemort, right? Well, you don't have to be. I can't, er, Voldemort can't do what I did. Not in here at least. You can't synchronize in your own dimension. And he can't leave and re-synch into a different location, so you really don't have to worry about it. And, in fact, he probably can't leave at all, not in the way I cam. I'm the... uh, the kwee-sah haddera or something like that. That's what Paul said, anyway. Well, I guess it's something all people can do with training, since Kancho can do it, but I've been gifted with the ability to facilitate resonancy change. Um, er, that's not helping... or was it my ability to maintain a sub-pocket dimension? I don't really remember now. But the important thing is you have no reason to be afraid because I'm not a security threat. I'm not doing something most people can do, and I'm sure you won't find any more people popping into your Hogwarts through portals since it's really my Hogwarts, too. It's the one I have dimensionality to."  
  
If Snape could have laughed without offending Dumbledore, he would have. Instead, he relegated himself to the sipping of his soup and smiling behind his sleeve so Dumbledore wouldn't notice.  
  
"My dear, I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about," Dumbledore finally said after a long pause. Em rolled her eyes in exasperation.  
  
"Professor, do you have a sheet of paper? Here, may I use this one?" She lifted a sheet from his desk without bothering for him to answer, similarly liberating a nearby magical quill. "Okay, it's like this." She drew a circle in the center of the page. "Here's home--my home, reality." Then she drew a larger circle around it. "This is my subconscious, unconscious, whatever. The thing that makes all life divine in a way. Now these," and she drew a variety of smaller circles intersecting the outer circle of the mind, "are other dimensions like your. This," and she drew an X mark in the middle, "is my physical, corporeal being. It can't move anywhere. But my mind can, since it's really the part that is me, not my body. It's this whole big circle, see? And it intersects all these other circles. Here's Hogwarts, and here's the Empire where Kancho and EmileAmai and Milly are from, and here's... Here's home, the one I make for me and my family. Not my body family--my mind family, the consortium of being drawn together by similar mental threads. See, everyone has an above-conscious, a mind that can access the other places, and these can intersect mine, but it's not corporeal travel, it's mind travel. But energy and matter are the same thing! It's all these tiny strings that make up the atoms..." Inside each of the circles on the outside her home dimension she drew more circles. "These are the corporeal dimensions. Now, we can't travel corporeally anywhere in our own dimension that we aren't already, because we're stuck in our dimension. But we can use our minds to split or fragment ourselves up into many pieces, and then use them, a part of ourselves, to visit other places. Only, it's all tempered by our mind-spirit that determines the universe."  
  
The diagram was helping. Now Snape was beginning to understand what it was she was explaining. Dumbledore was nodding every few moments and mumbling encouragement for her to continue.  
  
"Now, there's a reason that I say this is my Hogwarts, My mind can only comprehend so many dimensions, one of each. So this is the Hogwarts that exists in my head and outside my dimension. It's not the same as anybody else's, it's all mine, but at the same time it's linked... well, wait that doesn't really apply here. The important thing to understand is that I'm the only one who can do what I do in this dimension because I'm the only one who can access it in this way. It's not a common dimension--and those exist--it's a specific one rooted in place by my subconscious. Subconscious determines the universe, you know. It's the concrete beneath our feet and the air we breathe. The corporeal being doesn't really matter in that respect. We're all energy. But so there are an infinite Hogwarts, this is just one. It's a good one, too, I think, only tempered by my subconscious, which I really hate, because it means I can't just run around doing anything and am bound by my own rules. I have some control, but not much. But, um, ahh... I think that's the important thing."  
  
"Are you saying you are not of this dimension?"  
  
"Yes, yes! That's it exactly. And that's how I was able to get into Hogwarts. I just kind of appeared here in the portal. Your magical barriers will hold firm here because the subconscious determination of rules says it will--and that's a common thing, not just something that's mine. A common subconscious throughout the universe, see? The groundwork of physics. The basic laws of the universe. That's not to say they can't be bent and broken and change in different places, just that they'll always be the same in any one place. That's really unfortunate, too, because my home dimension doesn't have any magic." She gave a long sigh at that and shook her head. "It's not important. We do still have some things, some really great things. I just wish... but I guess it's all my wishing that got me stuck here. See, my subconscious determination of the rules did something that prevents me from going directly home. I'm currently lost and unable to return. But I'm still home in a way, corporeally and consciously, I'm just partway stuck out here. You see?"  
  
"I... think."  
  
"I see," Snape muttered between spoonfuls of soup.  
  
"Good, I was hoping you would, Professor. It's not the easiest thing in the world to understand, but it's there. I'd try to get it across to you directly, but I don't want to risk it because it might be dangerous. Direct mental speech is also something that requires some mastery and control and, most importantly, familiarity. And I don't think we have that yet. Especially not you, Professor Snape, and I. But... Professor... I... It's important to me to make sure you're okay, and I don't feel safe unless I've got you with me."  
  
Snape stopped eating once again, his spoon hovering in midair. "Albus, if you will excuse us."  
  
Every piece of headmaster's instinct told Dumbledore not to leave, but the aged wizard nodded his head respectfully. "As you wish. I can see you two have some things to talk about. Please don't make it a habit of skipping meals, Severus. Good evening."  
  
"Good evening," chimed Em, giving Dumbledore the weakest smile imaginable. Snape didn't even bother to try. With Dumbledore now gone, Em settled back into eating her pomegranate fleshy seed by fleshy seed. "It's--it's kinda hard to explain, Professor, but I'll try."  
  
It can't be any harder to explain than the rest of your dribble, he thought icily.  
  
"See, I do what I do, but I do it for a reason. I don't just make a Household because it's fun, I do it because I, well, because people need something to hold on to, and because some things transcend all parts of the universe. I can't bear to see anyone in a position similar to my own, so I send this part of me, the stronger part, the part that can do what needs to be done, to go and make sure everyone is okay. And I do it because I care. Because I care about you. Best settle down, this may take a while." She dropped a handful of dry pomegranate seeds into the bowl with the husk of the fruit. "In my dimension, my home dimension, you're just a character in a book. A movie, too, now, but primarily a book. A series of books."  
  
"Potter," Snape said suddenly.  
  
"Yes, Potter. The books are about him. And you're in them. but you have to understand, my universe has rules, and your universe is based off the rules of a person in my universe. I'm bound to them as you are, and neither of us can change them, and among these rules there's... there's something that puts you in danger. I guess I'd better take a moment to tell you about my family."  
  
"My family and I aren't biologically related, we're more spiritually related. Kancho, he's like my dad, and he's been with me for ten years. Even more often now since I've started experiencing a revival. The power and connectivity comes and goes. But anyway, Kancho and the group of people from his universe were once part of something called the Galactic Empire. It was what you'd call the bad guys of their story. They're good people, good men I think, but the fact is that they were on the wrong side. Like you were. But, and this is the hard part, Kancho is dead. And he's not the only one."  
  
"I have a good friend and mentor by the name of Dinobot--don't laugh, please--and he was what was called a Predacon in his home dimension. And they were the bad guys. But he joined the good guys, the Maximals, and he served with them for a long time. Sometimes he played double agent, like you, and in the end, he--he--"  
  
"He died," Snape finished.  
  
"See, where I come from, you're not a person, you're a character. You're not really real there. I mean, you're real enough in your own dimension, but you're not real in mine. Just like I wouldn't normally be real in yours. Hey, maybe there's a book series about me somewhere in here. But anyway, I have one more person to tell you about: Vegeta. He was a bad guy for a long time, and he never really stopped being a bad guy, and now he's-- "  
  
"He's dead as well."  
  
"Ye-es. So here are three men. The first is a decent person on the bad side. The second was--is a person who was on the bad side and joined the good side. The third is a bad guy on the good side. And they're all characters in my home dimension, just like you are. All characters." A seed clanged into the bowl, followed by a solitary tear. "That's why I had to come. I'm afraid--I don't want you to die, but I can't change it if you do. That's why I have to be here, with you, here and now, in this world where normally I cannot go, and for now I cannot leave. I can't leave anyway, but I'll have to eventually. And I don't want to leave without you while you might be in danger. I just couldn't bear it if anyone else died! They're all dead--Max, Kancho, Daidai, Talos, and, oh, I don't know! But so many are dead! And I don't want to lose another person I love!" She was sobbing full-out now, this part of Em who could do what was needed. Desperately she shoved more seeds into her mouth and tore them dry with her teeth, spitting them back out as the red blood of the pomegranate slid down her chin, mangled by the salt water.  
  
Snape was amazed, truly amazed, that anyone would go through such convoluted loops for him. Him, Severus Snape, the most despised man at Hogwarts. Even Draco Malfoy had friends. Even rats had family. He had neither of those things, not really, and yet some poor, stupid, sobbing girl from a dimension where he was just something in a book had come to see him because she was scared he might get hurt.  
  
He never would have believed it outside of the circumstances. As it was he was having a hard time with the concept that his existence could possibly be controlled by a being in another universe.  
  
The tears had slowed now and only the blood of the pomegranate remained. Em wiped her mouth on her sleeve. She really wasn't too terrible, now that he thought about it. Just infuriatingly annoying. And she actually did seem to have some sort of odd concern for him. That was the most bizarre part, all portals and dimensions aside. A man she had only met once before, and one whom she had known for less than an hour.  
  
"How," he finally asked, "How can you do all this for me? You don't even know who I am."  
  
"Ah, but I do, that's the thing! I've read all about you, it's part of the subconscious rule. And I'm naturally emphatic. Empathic? Urg, I'm not very good with words sometimes. But the point is I've read volumes about you and thought volumes about you and known you before I ever set foot in this office. You don't have that kind of relationship with me, I know. But it's like knowing someone your entire life when you make the connection. And I was right about your hair, wasn't I?"  
  
Slowly, he admitted, "Yes."  
  
"I don't care, though. Your hair isn't another reason for me to despise you. Why, look at my hair! I think it feels so much nicer this way, no matter what people think. I'll never understand why they all started bathing every day. It's quite unnatural. I know up here, in England and Europe and all that, they bathe less, but in America--oh, you should hear the stuff I get about not bathing every day! My own grandmother, I go up to visit her at Christmas, even though I don't really celebrate it, and she thinks I must bathe every day because it would never occur to her to think otherwise. But I don't. I hate bathing! I'd rather go without a bath for days and weeks and months. Tch, I'll never understand those people, all those damned high school girls who act like not bathing every day is the equivalent of having tuberculosis. They didn't bathe so often back in the Middle Ages, only once a month or year. And it's no business of theirs, anyway. Yich. Once in a while I'll want to bathe, of course, when something strange happens and I'm completely covered in muck or something, but not usually. And not even usually with the muck, you know what I mean?"  
  
Snape could have laughed if he'd found the occasion to in her speech, but she spoke so quickly and without hesitation that all his energy was spent on interpreting her lightning-fast words. They weren't the empty lightning- fast words of the gossip, either; they were complex words, interesting words, meaningful words.  
  
"But I know you're just looking for someone who'll go beyond an excuse to make fun of you," she finally concluded. Ping, ping, went the pomegranate seeds.  
  
That one line, spoken slower than the rest, stung his mind. That had been exactly what he'd always said he was looking for.  
  
"I hate to say it, Professor, but I'm not sure you can even recognize what one is when you see her, am I wrong? In all honesty, you're so stuck in the rut of everyone hating you and you hating them that you can't get out. I hate to say it, but it's pretty obvious. It doesn't change anything. I knew what I was getting into the first time I came here. Doug was the same way. You'll meet him later, I'm sure." She paused to wrestle with her snack. "We're all two people, Professor, one who says and does what we say and do and the other who thinks everything. I'm sure you can guess which half of Em I am. I'm the one who thinks of doing everything and making everything happen, that piece of a person normally held back by inhibitions."  
  
"I... see." He really couldn't think of anything else to say.  
  
"Well, finish your soup," she instructed, "and then we'll have to go get me a bed I suppose. I really am sorry, though, about making this all so sudden. I hope you'll understand that I don't have a lot of time, and I really want to make sure we understand each other before I have to leave again. I can't leave you here like this, I really can't."  
  
She continued talking, but his ears ceased to hear and comprehend. He kept his mind on his soup instead. She spoke about her family some more, and kept mentioning a man named "Doug," saying how he and Snape were so similar. Snape would give an occasional nod or grunt to satiate her need for acknowledgment in the conversation. He was pretty sure she knew he wasn't really listening anyway.  
  
The last thing to leave the plate was the piece of pound cake. Snape considered it for a moment (she had forgotten to bring down a knife and fork) before picking it up in his long fingers and annihilating it in three large bites.. Her words drifted back into coherency.  
  
"...And so, you see, it really doesn't matter where I am in a way; I'll always have my Kancho, at least in part. And gods know what I might be doing right now if it weren't for his influence! Why, I'd probably be far worse than I am now."  
  
"Are you ready to go?"  
  
She nodded affirmatively. "After you, sir."  
  
"It's really not difficult," he said as he rose from his chair and led her back into the hallway. "Here is my office, and there is the Slytherin House entrance." The entrance was about a thirty second walk away.  
  
Then, of course, there was the matter of the password. Snape stood staring at the painting rubbing his chin while Em tried dearly to hold back her amusement. Suddenly the door opened from the inside, and out came a Slytherin boy.  
  
"Hullo, Professor Snape, the boy greeted as he walked past. Snape grunted and entered before the portrait could swing close again.  
  
If the Griffyndor Common Room had been impressive, it couldn't hold a candle to that of Slytherin, at least in Em's mind. She found the decor much more to her liking. It was darker, for one thing. The students scattered around looked up as she and Snape entered, some calling out greetings to their Head of House. Snape motioned impatiently for their collective attention.  
  
"This is Emperial, a relation of mine. You are to give her a bed in the girls' dorm and ensure that her stay at Hogwarts is a pleasant one. Cordelia?" He waved one of the girls over. "If you will see to Emperial's lodging for the evening, I shall retire to my own rooms. And," he returned to addressing the group, "I don't want to hear of any shenanigans in the morning, do you understand?"  
  
There was a weak chorus of, "Yes, Professor," and Snape stalked out. The girl, Cordelia, had curly red-brown hair and dulcet brown eyes. Em blinked at her.  
  
"Emperial Teal Atreides-Piett, but you can call me Em." She held out a hand and Cordelia somewhat begrudgingly accepted it.  
  
"Cordelia Hughes," she answered coolly.  
  
A boy stepped up next to Cordelia. "I'm Myron Massey. Delia and I are Prefects here, so you're expected to listen to what we say, okay?"  
  
"Sure thing," Em nodded, still looking around the room.  
  
"Well, first things first, let's get you a bed."  
  
Myron seemed much more personable than Delia, a fact for which Em was grateful. The two prefects led the way up a stairwell to the girls dorms, Delia checking to make sure Myron could enter, where Myron went about setting up her bed.  
  
"There you go," Myron said cheerfully once the task was complete.  
  
All Em could think to say was, "Thanks."  
  
"You probably want to meet some of the others, right? I saw you up at the professors' table at dinner. You weren't there long, though, were you?"  
  
"Ah, no, I had other matters to attend to. I would like to meet some of the others, though."  
  
Delia just watched them, content to play sentinel. Myron led them back downstairs and to a table where some Slytherins had gathered and were playing Wizard's Chess.  
  
"Hey everyone, this is Em. She's Snape's, ah..."  
  
"Were kind of distant relations," Em supplied.  
  
"Well, anyway, these are Gabriel Tardieu, Sabin Stark, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Thomas Turpin, Rebekah Purcell, and Gregory Goyle."  
  
Draco immediately weaseled his way to the front of the group, extending his hand. Em took it and shook lightly. "So you're a relative of Professor Snape's? He's really the greatest professor here at Hogwarts. All the rest are incompetent ninnies."  
  
"So you're Draco Malfoy? I've heard a lot about you. Yeah, well, my granddad and Uncle Severus's mother are cousins."  
  
"I've never heard your family's name I don't think," Draco noted. A light bulb went off in Em's head.  
  
"Oh, well, my mom's a Muggle, which is where the 'Piett' comes from."  
  
Draco hissed under his breath.  
  
"Of course, you'll treat me with respect, seeing as how I am the professor's guest." Draco had never withdrawn his hand from their earlier handshake, and Em used this opportunity to give his appendage a firm squeeze, causing Draco to hiss again (this time for a completely different reason). "And if you have a qualm with me, we can settle it through a duel."  
  
"Whoa, back up here now," Myron interrupted. Em finally released Draco's hand and smiled broadly. Myron continued, "No dueling while you're here. School policy."  
  
"Not that I'd expect you to know that," Draco snarled.  
  
"Oh, I know the rules, Draco. That's never put it past the Slytherins to start a few duels here and there, though, has it? Off the record, of course."  
  
"Just what has Professor Snape been telling you?" Rebekah, one of the girls still seated at the table, asked. Em giggled.  
  
"Oh, not that, of course. I have other sources."  
  
"Potter," prompted Draco.  
  
"Harry?" Em replied incredulously. "No way. You wouldn't know my source if I told you who she was, anyway, so why not leave it at that?"  
  
Of course, Pansy picked up on that immediately and suggested, "Hermione?"  
  
"No. A girl by the name of Jo Rowling."  
  
Blank stares answered this name, so Em just smiled again. "Like I said, you don't know her, but she knows all of you. Anyway, I'm sure we'll get along just fine, right, Draco? I'd hate to have to tell Uncle Severus that there was trouble while I was here."  
  
"You can't blackmail us," Sabin said. Even Myron was looking nervous.  
  
"Can't I? I'd dare say Professor Snape isn't going to complain. But don't worry, I promise I'm just about the nicest evil person you'll meet, harmless as a rat."  
  
Draco still wasn't buying it and motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him up towards the boys' dorms. He made sure Em knew she was hated as he left, giving her glares he normally reserved for Harry Potter and friends. Em just smiled and waved at him.  
  
"You're crazy," Myron finally sighed, scratching his head.  
  
"You bet. But we'll get along fine, I'm sure. I'm really not half as terrible as I make myself out to be." Sabin snorted and made a move on the chessboard. Em took a moment to flash him what was quickly becoming her trademark grin. "When do you guys normally go to bed here?"  
  
"In half an hour," Cordelia said coolly. Em looked shocked.  
  
"Half an hour? But it's only, uh--" A quick glance at her watch confirmed that its had stopped working due to magical interference, and it probably wasn't right for this dimension anyway. "Well, it's not past midnight yet, that's for sure. Man, I miss my computer! What about books?"  
  
"The library is closed."  
  
"Oh, not library books, I mean reading books. Fiction or fantasy or scifi or summat. I want my CD player, too."  
  
Myron really didn't seem to know what to make of this newcomer and Cordelia stared at Em with a most dissatisfied expression. The female prefect seemed to take special pleasure in stopping Em's every attempt at playfulness.  
  
"Hm, well, don't you have any other games? Argh, though, I don't want to play a game..."  
  
"Do you always hold conversations with yourself?" asked Rebekah.  
  
"Um, actually, yes. I think aloud a lot. Usually there's someone else to think with, but not today I guess. Kancho generally sits and thinks aloud with me about nothing. It's pretty fun, really. We can talk about anything and everything in the universe: philosophy, religion, politics, military strategy, dinner..."  
  
If Myron had elven ears, they would have perked up. "Military strategy?" he repeated, eyes flashing.  
  
"Oh, yes. My Kancho is great man, an admiral, a gentleman, and a top-notch strategist. So we sit around and talk about battle and stuff. Kancho has been in some great ones. He's lost thousands of men under his command, and saved thousands more. Why, just yesterday he was telling me about the battle of Mis'ell'prat, where he had a group of special commandos go in while the enemy's main troops were distracted with battle and the commandos blew up the entire base and managed to retrieve data the enemy had stolen from us. It was a hard mission, and one Lilem, my half-sister, was on. She's a great Je--witch. She told me the whole thing! See, they had to enter from the back..." 


	2. the Black Bird

It wasn't until many hours later that Em was finally forced to go to bed. Myron had been endlessly fascinated by her stories and she had told him as many as he could stand to listen before he had fallen asleep in his chair. Rebekah, Gabriel, and Thomas had also been in the audience, as well as a few other students who'd come in and not been properly introduced. Sabin listened, too, trying to hide his interest by pretending to work out chess plays. One by one they had dropped off to bed until only Myron remained. Then Em began to tell him the story of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, just because it was one of her favorites. It was shortly after the introduction of Captain Nemo that he fell asleep, at which point Em had tiptoed upstairs and climbed into her cot, sleeping deeply.

Morning had never been one of Em's favorite times, and it was no different when she awoke to a rough pushing. "Get up, get up!" a very frustrated Professor Snape was saying. Em finally sat up, bleary-eyed and yawning.

"Ohh, is it morning?"

"Yes, it's well past breakfast!" Snape said exasperatedly. Doubtless he had been called when the Slytherin girls had been unable to wake Em up. She had half a recollection of such an event.

"Just a minute," Em said, turning back to her pillow.

"You've said that twice now! Get up!"

"Fine, fine, I'm coming. Where's my Kashi and milk? Ack! I need pants! Socks!" Em scrambled about on the floor. "Where are my glasses? I can't see a thing!"

Snape said nothing, scooping to retrieve the gold-and-glass eyewear from the floor and handing it to the girl. She put them on, blinked a few times, and then seemed to realize where she was.

"Ugh, I don't have any clean clothes."

"Here." Snape grabbed a pile of clothing from a nearby bed and held it out. Em accepted the clothes and began to examine them.

"Hrm, I s'pose this'll do. I'll need to get some of my own shirts. Why are you standing in here? I need to get dressed."

"How can I be sure you won't go back to bed?" he snarled.

Em squinted. "Fine." She quickly lifted off the shirt she'd been wearing, revealing her ample bosom and bra. Snape was suddenly forced out of his element and beat a hasty retreat while Em finished changing her shirt and pants. Em slipped her boots back on and pulled on the traditional black Hogwarts robes with Slytherin adornments, joining Snape in the stairwell. The irate potions professor said nothing more, merely led the way to his classroom.

Snape's class was already assembled and Em realized just how late it must be and how big an inconvenience she'd been to Professor Snape. She flushed red.

Snape pointed to a vacant seat. "Sit," he commanded, and began his lesson.

Em remained quiet for the duration of the lesson, ignoring any stares from the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. Thank goodness neither Harry nor Myron were present. Apparently this was a first-year class. Snape was incredibly cruel to them, doubtless crueler than usual because he had lost face thanks to his "guest." The students were very relieved when class finally ended, but Em could feel her stomach tighten into a knot. Angry Snape was not a good Snape.

After the last of the first years had left, Snape approached Emperial. She looked up, nervous and fearful, and was surprised to find that somehow Snape didn't look as angry as she'd expected.

"What am I going to do with you?" he asked. Em looked down sheepishly. "You are far more trouble than you're worth. I trust there will be no more morning fiascos? Though I suspect it was the evening's events and not the morning's that caused Mr. Massey to be late for breakfast. Not only have you embarrassed yourself, you have embarrassed me and my House."

Oh, great, she had made Myron late. "I'm sorry," Em said.

"'Sorry' is not good enough."

"I promise it won't happen again."

A pause, then Snape sighed. "I suspect you have little control in the matter of your sleeping habits. I suggest you come up with a solution which does not rely upon your own willpower to succeed. Do you require a sleeping aid of some sort?"

"I could use an alarm clock."

"An alarm clock. Come along, then. I don't have a class at the moment, so we shall be making an excursion to town."

Em could barely contain her excitement as she obediently followed Professor Snape. The ensuing conversation was restricted to warning of half-hidden steps and other hallway dangers lurking about Hogwarts. Snape took them out the back way into town so no one would see them.

The town was one of the most marvelous places Em had ever seen, second only to Hogwarts and the grandeur and splendor of her precious Kancho's galaxies. Em wanted to linger in front of every window and stare at the tiny moving trinkets there for hours. Somehow Snape maintained what little control he had and dragged her into a wizards' clock shop.

Tick, tock, ding, dong, bleep, bloop, chkchkchk, whoosh, and ever other noise imaginable came from the various timepieces. Some showed more than merely the time, with complex moving diagrams of planets, stars, and the moon. Others had lunar and solar month and day listed, as well as weekday (one clock featured the addition of "Morkday" to the calendar, though Morkday's position seemed to change every time Em looked at it) and little magic enchantments that reminded you of things you needed to get done. Snape selected the plainest (and loudest) he could find and brought it up to the register.

"Um," said Em, finally tearing her gaze away from a clock with a dozen small hourglasses on it. "Only one?"

"What, one isn't enough?"

"Two, to be on the safe side. What if one breaks, or I need a second wake-up call?"

Snape glowered, muttering about how such clocks never break, they simply malfunction and go awry, but scooped up a second clock anyway.

"Ah, a most fine choice," the clerk said. "One of our most popular clocks! Well-used at Hogwarts I'd dare say."

"Yepyep! That's where we're from!" beamed Em before a patented Severus Snape glare silenced her. He paid the cost and dragged her back out into the street.

"Thank you so much, Professor. I really appreciate it!"

"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for my House."

"Ooh, go figure," she pouted. "Can't do a bloody thing for anyone else out of kindness, no." It was doubtful if he heard her; her tone had dropped to the level where none but she could hear.

They walked a bit in silence, more uneasy than grateful. Em finally piped up again.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?"

"Hrmph."

"Look at those birds, and those trees, and that gorgeous old topless woman dancing-"

"Where!?" he demanded.

"Sorry, just making sure you could hear me. It really is a nice day though, isn't it? The kind that make you wish you could sit outside all day and just watch the world go by without a care, without a worry, without a fear, without anything. Just you sitting by yourself with the trees and the wind and the insects and the birds."

He seemed to be particularly cross after the morning's antics. "Why would anyone want to do that?"

"Oh, you should try it, it's lovely. Here, come sit here a moment with me."

"We need to get back to Hogwarts."

"How much time do we have? This'll only take two minutes." She grabbed his arm and tugged lightly, just enough to be insistent.

"I said no!" he yelled. He jerked his arm free.

"Severus, wait!"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Seh-Professor, just sit down a minute, will you? Besides, I'm tired. Two minutes won't kill you!"

"And how do you know!"

She stared at him with an almost blank expression. "That has got to be the stupidest question, and you know it. I'm sitting. Are you going to leave me out here where anyone and anything can get at me?"

This threat resulted in a glare and a low, guttural growl from Snape. Taking that as a failure to offer any real objection, she turned, walked seven long paces to the nearest tree, and sat herself down at its base.

It took Snape about twenty seconds before he stormed off towards Hogwarts.

As she watched him leave, Em couldn't help but to feel a little sad. The feeling welled up inside her until it felt like she might burst. Alone in a strange and unfamiliar place where magic truly existed and dangerous creatures lurked in the woods. Hopefully not along this particular stretch of trees, but Em knew from the books that such hope was most likely misplaced. She brought her knees up to her chin. The day seemed suddenly much colder now that she had no one to spend it with.

Suddenly, the cry of a bird made Em very nervous. She glanced about anxiously and squinted at the trees and bushes in the area. Was that movement? It certainly wasn't Snape. He had disappeared in the other direction. Em craned her neck around, but there was no sign of him. _Whywhywhywhywhy did I do that? How stupid can I be? All I'm going to do is drive Snape away, just like I drove Doug away, and Kancho won't be here to fix it all this time._

A different voice: _But what else could I do?_

It's either now or never with me. All extremes.

But why?

Her inner turmoil was cut short by another avian scream. Just like that, she was on her feet and off running, more tears on her face, no sense of direction, just heading away.

She found herself in a section of the woods that looked almost exactly like the one she had just left. All the woodland areas looked the same. There were no raucous birds, though, so she sat back down against a tree and resumed her fear-mingled moping.

* * *

Severus Snape stormed. He fumed, he spit, he glared, he glowered, he sneered, he growled, he muttered, and he sulked. Damn that insufferable girl.

His students must have thought him mad (not that they didn't already, but this time more insane than angry) when he pounded into the classroom ten minutes late, threw down a stack of papers, pointed at a trustworthy Slytherin, barked, "Pass these out," and promptly flew back out again in a flurry of robes. Never mind what they thought. (They didn't matter, or so he told himself. It was a necessary lie, because if he ever admitted that their opinions did matter, he might be able to achieve some form of happiness, and he must never allow himself to do that, because--)

Snape stopped outside of Hogwarts just long enough to give the building a longing and despising glance. His home. He turned away from it in a disgusted flurry of robes and took off in the woods towards the last place where he had seen Em. It was a bit of a walk, but nothing overly exhausting, even at Snape's brisk pace. Of course, once he got there, Em was nowhere in sight, so he fumed a bit more by himself before noticing a large black bird watching his every move.

To anyone else, a large black bird acting as guardian might be considered a mere curiosity, but suddenly Snape found his heart racing. "Shoo!" he cried at the bird, waving his arm in a scarecrow impression. The bird did not respond. That only magnified Snape's fear: it might be a spy for Voldemort, an Animagus-_something_ dangerous foreshadowing his untimely and grisly demise. How long had the bird been there? Had it been following him all day? It was too intelligent to be a mere bird with its unwavering gaze, it had to be something special. Voldemort (or one of his many followers) could harass Snape here outside of Hogwarts, and nobody would be able to do a thing, Dumbledore in particular. Dumbledore was practically the only thing keeping him alive! Snape desperately tried to remember an Animagus who could turn into a crow or a raven or even some avian creature but his panicked mind refused to cooperate. And what if this were merely a magically-generated bird, some form of spell? Or a creature enchanted to be the eyes for a concealed wizard? Snape backed up two steps, stumbled on a branch, then turned and ran.

On cue, the bird took off in pursuit.

Snape ran, the bird flew. He cried out in fear, it said nothing. The chase meandered through the woods at an agonizing pace as the Hogwarts professor wove his way through bushes and low branches in search of a place of safety. Overhead, the bird's flight showed none of the slow, stumbling incompetence of the man below. The bird had only to shift its wings a touch and it soared over the treetops and obstacles, never allowing Snape to leave its sight.

"Get away! Leave me alone!"

Snape tripped, hard, on an upturned root and slammed into the ground. He could suddenly taste blood in his mouth. His hands stung with the impact of his fall. Quickly rolling over, he watched as the bird swooped down onto a nearby branch and continued its silent guardianship.

"What do you want?" he gasped at it, winded. "I-I haven't done-anything-"

Finally, the bird moved without following, swooping to another nearby branch and cocking its head. It seemed to want Snape to follow. The bird waited for a moment more before diving away into the trees and disappearing.

Snape wearily brushed at the dirt and twigs on his robes. What time was it? Time for class, of course. He should be back at Hogwarts teaching, not sitting in the woods terrified of a bird, not looking for some dumb girl, not bleeding and breathless and beaten.

Slowly, he became aware of singing nearby. The words were too faint to make out, but he could tell it was a girl. Great. Either it was the idiot girl he was looking for or some other girl about to rip his eyes out and gorge on his heart. He thought he might prefer the latter.

The singing suddenly stopped, replaced by some spoken words. It sounded like half a conversation. The voice began to approach. Snape let himself relax into the dirt and stared upwards. If he was going to die, let it be gazing upwards and not at the earth.

"… I sure hope you know where you're going," the voice said. It was Em.

"Damn," Snape muttered under his breath, but made no move to rise. Maybe she would be heading past him and simply fail to see him. He thought himself fairly well hidden in the moss and branches and bushes.

"Tuusk, tuusk, vraltinbral tusnanik. Selprindar'en visk talik?" Em was now saying. She was definitely heading straight for him. Within moments she had pushed past the concealing bushes and let out a cry of recognition. "Professor! What in the gods' names happened to you?" she cried as she ran forward. A dark shadow fluttered overhead as the black bird returned to its earlier perch, Em's visage mere moments behind it. "You look like you fell out of a tree! Are you alright?"

He waited a long time before replying. "Bloody fucking wonderful." Even as he said the pejoratives he knew how wrong they sounded coming from his mouth. He figured he probably did it to drive the girl away, which was reason enough. She didn't seem to even notice.

"Hang on a sec, can you sit up?"

"Yes," he growled, sitting up immediately and regretting it. He winced slightly.

"Tell me where it hurts, I'll make it better."

"Don't touch me. We're going back to Hogwarts. Now."

"But-"

"Do what I tell you to. You've done enough by yourself today." He sounded dead serious about it, too, so Em did not argue and moved back to give him room to get up.

Snape struggled to his feet, trying to conceal any physical discomfort he might be in, and promptly fell back down again with a yell. Em jumped forward and half-caught him, preventing another mouthful of dirt but aggravating his sore ribs. He pushed her away and quickly lay back down.

"Now will you let me try?" she asked.

"No. Now I'm going to do what I should have done earlier and call Dumbledore. You stay where you are." He drove a hand into his robes and returned with his wand held tightly. With a wave and small incantation a miniature view of Dumbledore's office appeared in midair. The Headmaster looked up. "Severus? Where have you been?"

"I'm in the woods outside of Hogwarts. The girl is with me. Send Madame Pomfrey."

"Severus!" Dumbledore started.

Snape closed his eyes and waved his wand again, cutting the conversation short. He would explain himself to Dumbledore later.

For about five minutes, neither Em nor Snape made any significant movements. Then Em began to sing softly.

"Aerlivous jrikralno kresn  
Sernekat tremalno kresn  
Silzevon ne pralno vicet  
Justreval kemeto sinet

"Haerlevan sepralnaki tet  
Zustrekan tremalno striket  
Temedos tamalnen tozgar  
Vesekanar tuner priket

"Aerlivous jrikralno kresn  
Sernekat tremalno kresn  
Silzevon ne pralno vicet  
Justreval kemeto sinet oh

"Krolze vralnen telgeldanen  
Prizelgek nolzelne kalnen  
Frin dretask promal tuvalel  
Setemak djru velseprannl

"Selnelviturkonn, pral dzetalnek  
Diise pral nekan, delnatizek  
Se prutzelnfal, krebitur  
Tren krimegral, krebitur  
Selneproizefet,  
Telnar zitur.

"Visi bannen pralle dus  
Sekrenn drustal neden kuvous  
Se pralne kose tilde vat  
Sekrussi pes emaldekat

"Vitepalne seprevis  
Sukrelnepan du kralhebis  
Trsukibat  
Trokilbat  
Telnebesofann

"Evalmisukonn sallprelltiinaan  
Teprek dalne han stounn kamenen  
Nain tosavet ebritur  
Sen kolvalet temitur

"Salne krubehal  
Tozan melep…

Her song came to a sweet, wistful close. In truth, she was not the greatest of singers, her range being somewhat limited, but the words rolled off her tongue in such a pleasant, rhythmic, lyrical fashion is was hard to criticize her. Not hard for Snape, of course, but at the moment he didn't feel like trying. He didn't want to listen to her sing, but he wanted even less to give her an excuse to engage him in conversation. So long as she was singing, she was not talking directly to him.

Overhead, the sky was clear and blue, which made for a nice day but a boring view. Again, Snape did not want to be stuck there watching nothing, but the alternative was moving, which might very well requires Em's help, and he didn't feel like moving. Better just to sit as he was. At least the pain in his ankle has subsided into a dull throbbing and his ribs ached slightly less as time passed. Em started singing again.

"Win dain a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dain a loluca  
En dragu a sei lein  
Vi faaru les shtai am  
En rigalint.

"Win chent a lotica  
En vai tu ri  
Si lo ta  
Fin dain a loluca  
Si katigra neuver  
Floreria for chesti  
Si entina.

This song seemed to suit her singing range even less. Snape grimaced. Better to stop her now. He gave a harrumph for her attention.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Would you mind…"

"Hm?" she said hopefully.

"… Not making so much noise?"

"Oh. Of course." A moment. Then: "FLEW IN FROM MIAMI BEACH BOAC, DIDN'T GET TO BED LAST NIGHT! ON THE WAY THE PAPER BAG WAS ON MY KNEE, MAN I HAD A DREADFUL FLIGHT! I'M BACK IN THE USSR! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LUCKY YOU ARE, BOY! BACK IN THE USSR!"

"EM!!!!"

"Oh the Ukraine girls really knock me out, they leave the West behind! And Moscow girls make me sing and shout! That Georgia's always on MY-MY-MY-MY-MY-MY-MY MIND!"

"If you're going to sing it, at least sing it right!" he shouted.

She stopped. "What??"

He recited in a fast and angry monotone, "It goes: On the way the paper bag was on my knee, man I had a dreadful flight. I'm back in the U.S.S.R., You don't know how lucky you are boy, back in the U.S.S.R. Been away so long I hardly knew the place, gee it's good to be back home, leave it till tomorrow to unpack my case, honey disconnect the phone." It was hard to recite without allowing the least bit of whimsy to slip in, but Snape managed to do so beautifully.

Em's mouth dropped open. Snape could just make out her expression from the corner of his eye if he turned his face a bit. It was both satisfying and disconcerting. "What?" he demanded.

"You know the Beatles?"

"Obviously better than you do."

She purpled. "I didn't have any time to prepare!"

"Either don't sing or sing it right," he repeated, looking straight up once again. A few moments later he heard movement and turned back to see Em rising to her feet an approaching. "What do you think you're doing?"

She plopped down on the ground next to him with her legs crossed and pulled back her sleeve. "Try not to move. This may sting a bit." Before Snape could object, she held her bare hands out in the air over his body and began to chant under her breath. Her brow furrowed with effort.

Slightly, ever so slightly, her hands began to glow. First her palms, then her fingers, finally her fingertips. Snape felt a stinging warmth spread over his chest and gave a gasp of mingled surprise and pain. It did sting, but within bearable limits. The whole affair lasted about thirty seconds before Em stopped her chanting and dropped her arms to her side. The pain in Snape's ribs had deadened and was barely noticeable now. There was a tingling sensation in his hands so he brought them up to his face and saw that the most minor of the scratched there had mended, and the larger cuts were visibly smaller. The skin was still new and tender.

"Well," Em chirped, "I suppose that was better than nothing."

"You…" he said, more awed than accusing. He meant to add "I thought you were a Muggle," but never quite managed.

"Yes, me," she agreed. "A little bit of healing Etoh taught me, a gift from the goddess Marfa. I wasn't sure if it'd work--this isn't Lodoss by a long shot--but it seems to have worked just fine. A little bit better than usual, in fact. Normally I can't get cuts to knit that much, but I guess the already magical nature of this dimension… It usually just lessens pain."

Snape absorbed that, scrutinizing his hands. Then he said plainly, "I sprained my ankle."

"Sorry, that's a little beyond my skill. I'm really the most basic of healers. Etoh's far more skilled than I am."

From the trees, the black bird cawed. Snape had forgotten it was still there.

"What's that, Corvus?" said Em, turning to look at the bird. She waited as if listening. "He says Madame Pomfrey's coming," she informed Snape, then ordered, "Go bring her to us, Corvus. Circle her twice and then fly back." The bird cawed once more and took off for the skies.

"That bird-is yours!?"

"Well, yes, I think so. All black birds are in a way. That one has an old soul, a soul I'm familiar with. He's my Corvy, my most beloved friend, and he's always with me when I need him. Even here! Amazing, huh? In my home dimension, he was a computer, but he passed away and now exists as a bird. I think it's a crow. Ravens have yellow beaks, don't they?"

"I wouldn't know."

"Well, in any event, you can trust Corvus. He's a good bird and a loyal friend. Oh, look, here comes Madame Pomfrey…"

The large, normally jovial nurse came into view. She was riding on her broom and accompanied by Dumbledore and McGonagall on their respective brooms. Corvus was sitting on the headmaster's shoulder.

"Must everyone see me like this?" Snape grumbled under his breath. Em patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"Hi guys. Good afternoon, Headmaster Dumbledore."

"And you are?" asked McGonagall.

"This is Severus's relative I was telling you about," said Dumbledore.

"Emperial Teal Atreides-Piett, or Em Atreipie for short."

"And speaking of Severus," Madame Pomfrey jumped in, "what have you done to yourself, professor?"

"It was--"

"It was my fault, I'm afraid," Em said quickly. Snape just as quickly cut _her_ off.

"It was her _bird_," he clarified. "It was following us."

"A bird," repeated McGonagall.

"Quite an amazing creature, that," said Dumbledore, smiling at the crow.

"Yes, well, I thought so, too, and in the course of our fleeing I tripped." Snape screwed up his face in distaste.

"And I healed Severus!" Em announced.

Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "Oh, dear, not well enough." It was both a condemnation and a consolation for Em. She busied herself with her supplies and spells and quickly had Snape back in his original condition. (Snape's robes, on the other hand, remained grisled and dirty from the adventure.)

McGonagall looked on with some amusement. "What I would like to know is why you were running from a bird," she said.

"Death-Eaters!" offered Em enthusiastically.

"Animagi!" answered Snape at precisely the same time. Both exchanged horrified looks. "Death-Eaters!?"

"Well, if it's Voldemort's forces, they would be Death-Eaters!"

"Perhaps there is something you should know about Professor Snape's past," Dumbledore began.

"You mean how he was a Death-Eater? Yeah, I know that already. But he's not any more, so they could be after him."

"Shh!" chided Snape. "You don't know who might be listening!"

"Well, maybe I don't but I'm sure Corvus does. He would have told me if anything were wrong. Don't worry, Professor, I promised I'd look after you and I have!"

Snape couldn't quite recall when she had promised that, but it had probably been last night when she had been babbling and he'd tuned most of her words out.

Seemingly from nowhere she sang, "Tal meneskuul domari, sun vraltibaler. Soulmann voltisku talmarin, tep vomalenu salpeder," and grinned. Corvus let out a shrill cry. "Yeah, that's right, Corvy!" she giggled. McGonagall looked more skeptical than ever.

"All set," Madame Pomfrey said. At long last Snape stood. Em rose with him.

"I'm hungry," Em said.

If Severus Snape weren't so purposefully antisocial, he would have agreed.

* * *

Back at Hogwarts, Em had a marvelous time regaling her adventures that day to Myron and the Slytherins she had managed to befriend. She even sat with the Griffyndors and told it again at dinner, plus plenty of embellishment including heroics by Snape. Few could believe her wild tale, and with good reason. Who would believe that Professor Snape would stand bravely in front of a herd of menacing crows to protect someone, even a family member?

When all was said and done, only one other person did believe her outside of the Hufflepuffs, and that was Harry. He knew most of her tale was blown completely out of proportion, of course, but after dinner they had a nice chat in an unused classroom where nobody could hear.

"Okay, so maybe it was only one bird, but that doesn't mean Snape was any less a hero. He did come back to save me," Em was saying. "He's really not such a bad man."

"I know," said Harry. "You might not believe this, but Snape saved me once."

"I'd believe it, Harry. I even half remember the occasion. Ah, it was that Quidditch game, wasn't it?"

Harry looked at her inquiringly. "Were you there?"

"Yes, ah, no-In spirit. I was there in spirit."

Harry didn't know quite what to make of that, but he did not inquire further.

"He was chanting a counterspell to Quirrel's curse and Hermione lit his robes on fire," Em recalled. "Not the greatest charitable act, but everyone has to start somewhere."

"Right," Harry agreed, somewhat distant. "In any event, I have to get back to my studies."

"Sure thing, Harry. Oh, and--Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For talking with me and not judging Snape too harshly."

Harry couldn't help but to smile. "My pleasure."

"You do know that's part of the reason he despises you, right?"

The statement caught Harry off-guard. "What?"

"You talked to me, now I'll tell a little something to you. You're so kind. You're nice. You're friendly. Just the kind of great person I'm sure your parents would have wanted - no, the kind they _do _want you to be. And that makes Snape mad. Because he'd rather be you than himself. Y'see?"

"Yes," Harry sighed, "I see. I won't give up, though. I'm sure if there's good in him it'll surface once he realizes I'm not anything special."

"You'd be undoing years of conditioning to the contrary. Isn't that special?"

"Perhaps, but it's a kind of special anyone can be."

"And how about the way you've stood against Voldemort, something Snape could never do?"

Harry had no adequate answer. "Ron and Hermione-"

"But in the end, it was always you and him. You are something special, Harry. Someone with enough good in them to maybe make others special, too."

Harry grinned. "That works," he said. "I think I can live with that kind of special. But that didn't start with me. I got it from my parents."

"Didn't they both go to school with Snape?" Em said coyly.

"Yes," said Harry, not quite knowing where she was going with this.

"Well, then, you're continuing their work. Maybe not your father's work-we all know of the rivalry between him and Snape-but I think maybe your mother's work. I can't be sure, it's just a hunch."

"No, I think you may be right. And wrong, too. Snape and my dad may have been rivals, but I think my dad was doing the same thing in his own way. Like how school chums have a reunion later in life and laugh about all the pranks they pulled on one another."

"Good point. Hm. I've kept you too long."

"Don't worry about it. Hermione will get me up to speed on anything I've missed." He turned to leave, then turned back. "You've said a bit much, so I think it's only fair that I say something more."

"Oh?"

"I think you've got that kind of special, too."

Em's cheeks flushed at the compliment. "Between the two of us, one's bound to succeed."

"Right, then. Have a good evening."

"You, too, Harry." The door closed behind Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, and left Em sitting alone in the quiet room, contemplating it all. She sincerely hoped both she and Harry were right.

* * *

Harry hadn't gone far when he ran into Dumbledore. "Ah, hello, Harry," beamed the headmaster. Harry smiled in return. "You haven't by any chance seen Miss Emperial, now have you?"

"Em? She's in that classroom there, sir." He pointed towards the door he had just come through.

"Thank you very much."

"My pleasure, Headmaster." They walked past one another towards their respective destinations. Dumbledore paused at the door, listening for any commotion and going over what he had to say. The room was beyond quiet. He knocked, heard a welcoming sound, and entered.

Em was sitting at the table looking surprised to have been discovered here. She seemed to be just leaving. "No, no, sit down," Dumbledore gently instructed her. "Harry told me you were in here. I though we might have a chat."

"This isn't one of those optional kinds of chats, is it?"

"I'm afraid it is not."

Em sighed. "Well, okay then. I'm obviously not doing anything else." She sat back down in her chair.

Dumbledore whisked another chair from nearby and positioned it opposite her. "Where to begin," he sighed, sounding very old in that moment. Em fidgeted. "I suppose I should being with a few rules. One, you are not to leave the Hogwarts campus for any reason without myself present. Two, you are not to threaten the students for any reason or to engage in combat with them. Three, you must go to bed when the others do, and four, if I hear of any more disruptions, you shall be sent elsewhere. Do you understand?" She started to object, but Dumbledore raised his finger. "Those are the terms under which you may remain at Hogwarts."

"Yes, Headmaster, sir," she said.

"And then there is the matter of what we shall do with you during the day. You certainly cannot remain in Professor Snape's classroom all day. It disrupts his classes. I'm afraid I don't have a solution to that problem. In the past, visitors have gone to normal classes, but since you're not a wizard…"

"What about Muggle Studies? I could help out with that. I may not be from this dimension exactly, but your Muggle world and my world are very similar. I could be an assistant to that professor."

"Yes, perhaps that might give you something to do! We shall go ask in the morning. For now, though, I suggest you get some sleep."

* * *

The Muggle Studies professor turned out not to be open to the idea of an assistant, but relented under mild pressure from both Em and Dumbledore and slightly sharper pressure from Snape, who was eager to be rid of the nuisance the girl represented. Em started her job as assistant that very afternoon.

It instantly became obvious why the Muggle Studies professor didn't want an assistant. Em had heard that Muggle Studies was fraught with inaccuracies, but she had no idea to what extent. After a day of classes during which Em had spent every chance she could correcting the professor (much to the horror of the students, many of whom were raised in Muggle homes and knew better themselves but didn't dare try such theatrics), said professor returned Em to Dumbledore and stated, "Either I stay and the girl never sets foot in my classroom again or I leave."

Dumbledore was most apologetic and Em did her best to mimic him. After the professor had left, Em looked shyly at Dumbledore.

"I hope this doesn't count as a disturbance…"

"My dear, I haven't the slightest idea what you were thinking when you upset the Muggle Studies classes, but I would be most interested in finding out."

"Well, er, it's just that everything was so wrong."

"Oh?"

"Yes! Analyses of our nonmagic culture by 'non-Muggles' makes no sense. Haven't the formerly Muggle wizards ever tried to correct this?"

"Occasionally, Miss Atreipie, occasionally. A good deal of them are too polite to correct a society which has in essence adopted them, and wizards from Muggle families have not always enjoyed a high place in society."

Em wrinkled her nose distastefully. "That's stupid."

"A good many things we all do are stupid." He gave her a pointed look.

"True," she agreed, averting her gaze with admittedly comic guilt.

Professor Snape chose that moment to make his entrance, slinking in quietly as opposed to his normal flourish of robes and slamming doors.

"Ah, Severus, we have been expecting you."

"Good evening, Professor," Em said, trying to sound as obedient as possible. Not good enough, for when Snape whirled on her she very quickly found out his quiet entrance had merely been an attempt to control his anger.

"_Miss_ Atreipie," he hissed. "_What have you done now?_"

Em shrank back in her chair.

"In all fairness, Severus, the young lady was merely attempting to correct generations of prejudice against those of Muggle descent," Dumbledore intervened. "A bit presumptuous, we have both agreed, so now let us set that aside. I fear your classroom may be the only place we can keep Miss Atreipie out of trouble."

Snape stiffened. "What about Defense of the Dark Arts?"

"I should think not," said Dumbledore wisely. Some of his wisdom seemed to have rubbed off on Em, because for once in her life she kept her mouth blissfully shut.

"Remus would enjoy her company." Meaning: he might (and it would surely be a burden to put on the teacher who has the position I want), but I don't.

"Yes, Miss Atreipie is quite charming, but the subject matter of his courses might encourage more mischief, I'm afraid." Meaning: I know what you're up to.

Snape was clearly not believing Dumbledore's feeble excuses, but the underlying order was there: you brought her here, so she is your problem. Snape could have argued that he had not brought her here, but the mere fact that her presence was inextricably tied to his was damning enough.

"Very well then," he conceded. "She will sit in my classroom."

"I should hope she does something more besides merely sit. We have the girl's feelings to take into consideration." The headmaster waved his hand in Em's direction. She was still cowering in her chair and trying to avoid Snape's ire.

"Then I shall come up with something for her to do."

"Excellent. I am pleased that we see eye to eye on this, Severus. Is this arrangement agreeable to you, Emperial?"

Both Hogwarts faculty members looked at Em who, having been calmly addressed for the first time since Snape's entrance, shrunk into her ball a little bit more and nodded quickly. "Uh huh," she squeaked. The adults felt suddenly relieved.

"Well, then, it's arranged," beamed Dumbledore cheerily. "I shall see you both at breakfast. Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Headmaster," agreed Emperial.

Snape took the opportunity to look cross. "Come along, girl." She jumped out of her chair and followed him out of the office.

"Well, that went well," she said once they were clear.

Snape grimaced. "There will be no further talking," he instructed, making it clear that she was not home free yet. The rest of their walk went quietly. Snape deposited Em in front of Slytherin with only the password and a terse wish for her uneventful sleeping and then marched on alone before she could return the farewell.

Em stepped into the Slytherin Common Room and was relieved to see at least two welcoming faces. Myron and Corvus.

"The others have all gone to bed, it's best you did the same," Myron said, cheerful but tired. Em suddenly wondered how he had ended up in Slytherin with such a clearly Hufflepuff disposition.

"Okay." She held out her arm and Corvus flew to her obediently, perching as if he had always been there and were merely an extension of her arm. Myron smiled.

"That's a very nice bird you have there."

"Thank you. His name is Corvus."

Feeling guilty for having made Myron stay up to greet her, she went directly to bed.


	3. Potions Class

Em was a little late to breakfast, but within acceptable limits. She greeted those students she knew with yawns and slow blinks, mumbling "g'mornin's" and nearly falling asleep into her oatmeal. Corvus was with her the whole time, standing sentinel on her shoulder. He attracted a few stares and questions.

"I've never seen anyone at Hogwarts with a crow," remarked one Slytherin.

"I'm not even sure where you can buy them," said another.

Emperial managed a sleepy grin. "Oh, I didn't buy Corvus. He and I have always been together. He just kind of came to me. It was destiny."

The Slytherins mostly seemed to find this an outlandish tale, but no one made any substantive objection.

And then Draco sat down.

"Pity. Mudblood parents couldn't afford an owl?" he inquired. Em was tired, but not so tired that she could ignore the insult. She was just too tired to return it with an insult of her own.

"No, they're quite rich, but I don't want an owl. No, this is Corvus, and he's worth more than any owl you can buy anywhere, or any other animal for that matter," she explained.

"Oh really? What's he do, then, that makes him so special?"

Em gave yet another sleepy grin and mumbled something completely unintelligible to her crow. It clearly wasn't English, that much was clear. The crow leaned its beak into her ear as if replying, though no words were heard, and then Em said something else in her strange tongue and broke into giggles. Draco looked unimpressed. At long last Em said in English, "My crow can do magic."

Laughter broke out along the length of the table. Some Ravenclaws at the next table over sniggered as well. Once again Em was too sleepy to pull off any substantive reply to this mockery, but the laughter did register in her mind and manifest as annoyance.

"Don't believe me? Well, Draco, I can't show you at the table because I'd get in trouble, but I'd be glad to give you a private demonstration later."

Draco looked positively smug at that challenge. The conversation around them soon shifted to other topics.

Eventually, breakfast had to end. Students shuffled off to their respective classes. Emperial tagged along with some Ravenclaws heading to Potions, lagging behind them with the knowledge that she was not a part of their social group, or even their society. She entered the classroom after everyone else, pulling the door closed behind her. She looked up just long enough for her pleading gaze to meet Professor Snape's cold one and he indicated an empty chair against the wall for her to occupy. She was just going to sit when he stopped her, right in the middle of giving his first instructions to the class.

"Today we will be studying the varied uses of Miss Atreipie why do you have that bird on your shoulder in my classroom?" he intoned in one smooth breath. All eyes turned to look at Emperial, and once again she felt very small.

Emperial clearly had no idea of how to react to this, but her bird saved her the trouble. It hopped from her shoulder to the desk and opened its mouth in a hiss. Snape, still a bit sore from his previous encounter with the creature, decided discretion was the better part of valor and switched tactics. "Keep it quiet," he instructed, and began his lessons.

For half an hour Em sat in her chair and fidgeted, Corvus sitting on the desk in front of her. After some instruction, the students all began making their potions, but Em was not included in this exercise. She could feel eyes on her all the time as curious students glanced at her and her bird, wondering why she didn't make a potion and why her familiar was in the classroom with her. Snape sat at his desk and monitored the situation, pointedly ignoring Emperial. Finally she could take it no longer and raised her hand.

Snape took his time in answering her silent call. He scanned the room twice after he saw her hand shoot up, just in case there was any doubt he was ignoring her. At long last he said, "Yes, miss Atreipie?"

Instantly, the whole class looked at her. Em's hand snaked across the table to rest on Corvus's feathers.

"Um, might I have something to do, Professor?"

"Ah, yes, I do believe I said I would find something for you." He rose from his desk and went to the cupboard behind him. When he turned back towards her, he was holding quill, some paper, and a book. He deposited the items on her desk (displacing Corvus in the process) and leaned close so none of the other students could hear him. "I am not going to give you a Potions assignment. I'm sure you know why. I already have one Neville Longbottom; I do not need another. You may read this book and tell me what you think of it, and afterwards, when I have reviewed your thoughts on paper, we will discuss in what direction to proceed." Em nodded and opened the book. It was a slim volume, about a hundred and fifty pages, titled "the Fundamentals of Potions." An encouraging title. Perhaps, if she reviewed the material well enough, Snape would allow her to try brewing some potions of her own.

It was certainly a dry book, filled with complicated (and often ridiculously hilarious) terminology meant for readers far more advanced in the subjects than she. If she had to pin down the authors motivations, it would be explaining his ideas on the fundamentals to those of a similar level of knowledge. Snape clearly intended for her to get nothing out of the book. Well, too bad for him.

She read it one over, reading through the break between classes and into the next Potions course without pause. Then she went back and started reading again. Finally, nearing the end of the second class, she raised her hand. This time Snape was more attentive.

"Miss Atreipie?"

"May I go to the library?"

"You may not."

Any normal student would have dropped the point at that moment, but not Em. She lacked the common sense. "But sir, I need to go to the library."

"The library does not require your presence."

She held up the book. "I want to research in more detail some of the ideas in the book."

"I said no."

"How can you expect me to evaluate the book without understanding the concept behind-"

"I'm sure you'll find some way," he intoned. Em scowled and slumped back into her chair, defeated. She picked up the paper and quill and began to plan on writing something nasty. She surely would have, but at the exact moment a large rat scampered up onto her desk and sat back on its haunches, looking at Corvus. Em looked at the rat. The rat looked at Em. Other students noticed the rat. Snape noticed the rat.

And then there was another rat, gray to the first rat's black. Both were too disheveled to be mistaken for any familiar besides Scabbers, and Scabbers was too lazy to venture down to Snape's classroom and have his tail chopped off for the effort. No, these were nonmagic rats. Common dungeon rats, a bit larger than normal ones. A few of the girls in class whimpered.

Snape rose and pointed his wand at the rats, intending to scare them away. Em ignored everything in the room besides the rats and snaked her finger out to touch one.

"Don't!" came Snape's stern command, his arm frozen in midspell. He could not throw the curse with Em so close to the targets. She might get hit, and that would take a lot of explaining.

Still Em wasn't listening to him at all. She whispered a few words under her breath to the rats and they climbed onto her arms, scrambling awkwardly to her shoulders. Em giggled. "Why, how kind," she said aloud. "I'd be honored."

"Ew!" remarked one student as the classroom dissolved into gasps and murmurs.

"But," continued Emperial, "you mustn't bother me while I'm in Professor Snape's classroom. He's an awfully busy man, and can't you see his students are distracted?" The lead rat squeaked, look at its fellow, and dove for the floor. Then Emperial seemed to pretend to listen to the second rat for a moment. "Yes, yes, I understand. I won't forget. Thank you." The second rat joined its fellow and disappeared through a crack in the stone wall.

That was the cue for the classroom to erupt into laughter. Emperial looked moderately embarrassed. "Sorry, Professor," she called over the ruckus. "That really wasn't my fault! I swear it won't happen again!"

"Quiet! Silence, everyone! Back to your potions!" No one could silence a room quite like Snape. He glared at Emperial, but she had returned to her book with a happy smile and begun writing some things down. He sat back down and debated whether or not that constituted a disturbance on her part enough to get her thrown out by Dumbledore. He had a feeling the headmaster would take the girl's side again.

Next came lunch. Emperial left her paper and quill on the table and headed out with the other students, Corvus on her shoulder. Snape closed the door behind her with his wand and went to look at her desk.

There was the book, the quill, and the papers. Of the five he had given her, three and a half were covered in writing. Her handwriting was legible, at least. Then, on the fifth paper, he found something quite unexpected. A portrait of himself. Around it she had written a lengthy dialogue in miniscule handwritten ink letters.

This is Professor Snape. He's a nice man. At least, he acts nice in  
his own way. He gave me a very hard book to read, which was mean,  
but it's about Potions, which means he might give me a chance. Oh,  
and I have a date with the Rat King, or so I have been told. Appar-  
ently word among rats travels fast, because these rats know about  
me in my home dimension. Rats are special like that. If any creature  
can manage interdimensional travel naturally, it's rats and crows or  
ravens or black birds at least. I love the name Severus. It's such a lov-  
ely name. It's the name of a Roman emperor. I wonder if Professor  
Snape knows this? I think he must. He's a smart man. My name is  
Latin in origin. My old name, anyway. "Emily" comes from the Latin  
for "ambitious." Ha ha! I think I need to find a way to make Professor  
Snape cheer up. He seems really sad or mad at me all the time. I  
wonder what Kancho would do if he were here? Probably tell me to  
shut up! At least I have Corvus. I'm going to show Draco that Corvus  
**can** do magic. Ha ha, Draco, I'll show you who's boss!

There's a song that reminds me of Snape. Well, it reminds me of Family  
in general. It goes like this:

Don't you know me?  
I'm the one you used to talk to.  
You stopped believing  
But still I follow everywhere you go  
I'm walking right behind you and I'm just around the corner  
I'm always down the hall and by your side  
You might call me your shadow  
Or the reason that you laugh and you don't know why

… But who is "I" and who is" you?"

Snape resisted the urge to crumple the paper and placed the five sheets back on the desk. Inane prattle, to be sure, but there was some information worth noting in there. Why had she left everyone on the table? Did she want him to find it? It wasn't a terrible portrait. A bit cartoonish, but the skill of her lines showed this was a style she was familiar with, not some cartoonish attempt at realism. It was also drawn completely in ink. So apparently the girl had some artistic talent.

The grumble in the professor's stomach was inescapable, so he headed towards the banquet hall. Doubtless Emperial would be there, seated among the students. He entered the hall from the rear and took his place at the professor's table, scanning the crowd. Sinistra tried to greet him, but he merely grunted in reply and focused on his search. He didn't see her at the Slytherin table or the Gryffindor table. Since she could have been anywhere, he checked Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, but still could find no sign of her.

A voice behind Snape caused him to twist in his seat, abandoning the search, at least for now.

"Ah, Severus, you've misplaced our young visitor, haven't you?" observed Dumbledore. "No need to be concerned. I'm sure she'll turn up sooner or later."

Later, prayed Snape. Let it be later.

Dumbledore gave Snape a pat on the back before taking his own seat. Now that the headmaster's attentions were elsewhere, Snape resumed his search. That was odd. Draco Malfoy was missing as well. Crabbe and Goyle were present, but Draco was not. Malfoys were always flanked by Crabbes or Goyles. Could it be the magical demonstration Emperial had scribbled about was taking place now?

There was no sense in losing any energy over it. Either the girl would turn up or she wouldn't. Snape would start to worry if Draco failed to turn up at Potions next class, not before.

That decided, he dug into his food with gusto. He hadn't realized how hungry he was.

* * *

When Em had left Snape's classroom, she had followed the Ravenclaws to lunch, but she had not not stopped to chitchat. She merely waited a moment for Draco to arrive and pulled him aside before he could enter the dining hall.

"What do you think you're doing? Get your hands off me," Draco complained.

"Do you want my magical demonstration or what?"

"I want to eat." He started to turn away, but Em would have none of that.

"No, now, Draco. You can eat later. It'll only take a minute."

Draco considered this, equally curious and skeptical about her claims and weighing the value of her offer against his current power situation.

Em rolled her eyes at his hesitation. "You can afford to miss the first part of lunch, Draco. I don't know how much longer I'll be here, so every minute counts."

"Fine, I'm game."

"Okay, this way." Draco started to follow, Crabbe and Goyle on his heels. "No, _alone_," insisted Em. That made Draco pause again and Em rolled her eyes once more. "For heaven's sakes, Draco, I'm not going to kill you."

"That's _Malfoy_ to you."

"_Malfoy_, then. Hurry up! I haven't got all day, and the sooner I show you, the sooner we can both eat. Tell your cronies to go eat by themselves. Surely they can manage that bit of basic locomotion?"

Draco was tempted to spit at her, but there might be a professor nearby, so he settled for glaring and waved his hand at Crabbe and Goyle, dismissing them. "Lead on."

Emperial retraced a route that was quickly becoming familiar to her and reached the unused classroom where she had spoken with Harry and Dumbledore the day before. Once they were inside, she locked the door. "Good." But when she turned from the door, Draco has his wand raised. "Draco, please calm down. While I'm sure I could hurt you, I'm not going to, and I can't defend myself from your wand."

"Can't defend yourself? Don't know any simple countercurses?" he sneered.

"Of course not. I'm a Muggle."

Draco's mouth dropped open and he nearly dropped his wand as well. She seemed to be expecting this kind of reaction, and Draco kicked himself for not noticing the fact that he had not seen her use a wand or cast any spells while at Hogwarts. Of course, she did say she was on vacation, and students weren't allowed to cast spells during vacations (not at any school he knew of, at least), but still. Lack of a wand would have been easy material for taunting. But if she were a Muggle, then she couldn't be on vacation from Lallinum, as he'd heard… (Heard from the Gryffindors, no less. That stung.)

This whole time, the crow Corvus sat on Emperial's shoulder, unmoving. Now the crow took the initiative, swooping over to a dusty chair and perching on its back. Emperial followed the crow but sat on the table instead of the chair. Draco finally put away his wand.

"I knew there was something fishy about you, I just didn't know what. Muggles are even worse than Mudblood wizards!"

"Arrogant asses are even worse than either," she retorted, "and you, Draco, are an arrogant ass. Now do you want to see my crow do tricks or what? Since I've told you I'm a Muggle, you know I can't very well fake the magic myself."

"Let's see your dumb bird do flips in the air, then."

"I take offense at that," objected the bird.

For a moment, Draco was thrown off-balance, but he quickly recovered. "An Animagus!" he hissed, half-awed. The crow made a noise similar to laughing.

"No, I'm not an animagus. Just a crow."

"And I'm just a Muggle," agreed Emperial.

"Wait, this must be that Muggle trick… ven-ventrectomy!" Draco was momentarily pleased for having figured it out.

"I can't do ventriloquism," she corrected.

"But she is correct in saying that she's as much a Muggle as I am a crow. So the real reason you're here is not a demonstration from me, but from Em."

"How kind of you to remind me, Corvus," grinned Em. There was something malicious in her tone, and Draco reached for his wand again. Emperial stared at him seriously. "Upreln neteshye'ekiyepon klojumai viekesenn. Evru alldanneln?"

Draco's breath caught in his throat. "How?" he choked out.

"Call it my little gift. And if you harass me again, I'll make it your misery." She hopped off the table and picked Corvus off the chair. Draco couldn't move. He felt sick to his stomach and cold, very cold. The meaning of her words wormed its way into his head and squeezed his very soul with an iron vise. "Qu jemmel?" she added. "Iyetsken kaizzlmatl vuzemassl kreyeten. Moiya vessetennen tuzemahl vahlhressetuut. Kral kreimeizefell."

"Stop!" Draco wavered and grabbed the nearby table with his nearest hand, his sweaty palm dragging across the surface as his legs crumpled, old splinters digging painfully into his skin. He covered his face. "Stop!"

When this registered in Emperial's mind, she did stop. She knew she had gone too far, as always. She was instantly struck by the backwash of his emotions from her psychic invasion and filled with compassion. She ran to his side, sliding across the dusty floor on her knees.

"Oh, Draco, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that--"

Draco would have none of it, swatting blindly at her as he moaned, one hand still covering his face. Emperial grabbed his flailing arm and held it still. Her voice a whisper, she quickly half-sang, "Win dain a lotica, en vail tu ri, si lo ta? Fin dain a loluca, en dragu a sei lein? Vi faaru les shtai am, en rigalint?" Unlike her earlier words, these were soothing. She rubbed Draco's hand tenderly. "Win chent a lotica, en vail tu ri si lo ta. Fin dain a loluca si katigra neuver. Floreria for chesti, si entina?" Draco quieted, just a bit, and Emperial was heartened enough to place her arm around his shoulders.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry, I maybe should have mentioned I have a bad temper… It's a bit of an inherited thing. I know I shouldn't have, but the way you kept insulting anyone with a Muggle in their family…"

"But I've only known you for two days!" He looked up at her, teary-eyed.

"But I've known you for longer. Remember, I told you a girl named Jo Rowling told me all about you? You and a lot of other people at Hogwarts. I've been watching the past three years. I know many of the things you've said and done. I thought I could teach you a lesson. I'm sorry, that was stupid. I have to stop trying to teach people lessons, nothing ever works out exactly the way I've planned, or even close."

Draco looked down and went quiet. She still held his bloodied hand, cradled in her lap like a treasure. Corvus chose that moment to speak again. "I told you it was a stupid idea, Em. How many times do we have to tell you? But noo, you've got to go try your own stupid thing every single time… Don't you ever learn?" Em ignored the bird, shhing to Draco and tracing her fingers over his hand again. There was a slight tinge of pain and Draco flinched, closing his eyes. When he opened them he saw the cuts on his hand didn't look quite so bad as they had before. Emperial motioned for Corvus.

"Pick out the splinters, Corvy. At least you can make yourself a little useful."

"I'm not a walking set of tweezers," retorted the bird, but he did it anyway. He was surprisingly exact with his beak. When all the splinters were out he hopped onto Draco's shoulder and drolly remarked, "There, there, chap, you're alright. She's a frightfully stupid little girl, but no harm done."

"No," said Draco. It wasn't clear if he was agreeing or objecting. Since he kept his eyes resolutely to the floor, Em guessed it was an objection. She lifted Draco's hand to her faced and kissed it.

That made Draco look up. "All better," said Em hopefully, relinquishing control of the hand back to its true master. Then she patted Draco on the head. "I wouldn't say a thing about your father, Draco. I won't tell. I told you, I'm evil, but I'm nice evil. Besides, I wouldn't exactly call my relationship with my mother pristine. Hell, I hate the woman, and I'd kill her if I could." She said it so matter-of-factly Draco didn't doubt the dispassionate intent. He did doubt if she were truly capable of the act. "Unfortunately, she's currently very useful to me, and I'm afraid I'm not allowed to kill anyone. For legal reasons, you understand. But I'm not going to blackmail you, really. Well, assuming you don't get me really angry, because when I'm angry I'm liable to do just about anything. Inherited trait, I mentioned. From my dad."

"I think I'd better go," said Draco.

"Can you stand?" That was the crow, still sitting on Draco's shoulder. Draco gave no answer, but pulled himself to his feet. Em rose moments after. Corvus ruffled his feather. "I do think we need to come to a business arrangement here. To begin with, we can't have you blabbing over school that I can talk or that Em can Talk with a capital T, which is what she was doing to you a minute ago, and we can't very well have the two of you at each others' throats… And Em's not really a Muggle, I'm sure you see, just like I'm not really a crow. I'm not an animagus, but I'm not 'just a crow.'"

"Who _are_ you people?" Draco asked, his face twisting in a combination of confusion, disbelief, and anger.

"Oh, just a relative of Snape," beamed Em, but for all her smiling, Draco knew it had to be a baldfaced lie. Corvus was similarly forthcoming.

"And I'm merely a friend of Em's, trying unsuccessfully to save her from herself. But let us discuss treaties. Can the two of you find some way to put your dastardly energies to a mutually beneficial cause, or at least to direct said energies away from one another? Or am I going to have to mediate between the two of you before you kill each other? And you're not going to mention my speech capabilities, is that understood, young man? If you do, I'll just pretend to be a dumb bird, like I've been doing. And I'm sure you can see I'm very good at that, since you hadn't suspected anything until I actually spoke."

Draco was still numbed from Em's psychic assault, but he managed, "You can make it talk, but can you make it shut up?" That gave each of them a much-needed chuckle and the atmosphere in the room lightened.

"I do say!" objected the bird, ruffling his feathers and moving to the floor.

Em held her hand out. "Truce?" Without hesitation, Draco took it. "I rather think we could be friends, especially if we could find some way to take out our aggressions on a third party. I won't mess with Harry, though, so we'll need a different pansy. And I can't get in trouble or Dumbledore will throw me out."

"Shame we don't see eye to eye when it comes to Potter, but I can think of a few Hufflepuffs-"

"Actually, I was hoping you might help me with Professor Snape."

"Snape?"

Her eyes sparkled, a far cry from the tension between them just minutes earlier. "I'm afraid my 'uncle' doesn't much like me."

"So I've noticed."

"Oh, dear, we'd better go get some food, though. Are you hungry?"

In truth, Draco's hunger had completely vanished the moment she'd "Talked" to him, and now he felt to ill to even consider eating. It was a good thing he hadn't eaten beforehand; his lunch would probably have ended up on the floor. "No, I'm alright," he said. Em noticed he was still leaning heavily on the table.

"Oh dear," she sighed again. She sidled up to him and hooked one of his arms over her shoulders. "Here, if we're good about it, I can get you to the dorms without anybody noticing. Corvy still hasn't shown you any real magic, after all, so consider this it."

"Do I honestly look like your personal GPS navigation system, girl?"

"No, you look like mine, period. Now git to it."

Corvus gave something suspiciously similar to a sigh in reply and flew to Em's shoulder, standing on top of Draco's arm.

What the bird said after that point was lost to Draco. Apparently they had a method of communicating that involved no verbal speech on the bird's part. Emperial continued speaking aloud her side of the conversation, though, which made things interesting. "And which way now, Corvy?" she would ask, pausing. The bird evidently gave her some sort of reply, because she headed to the right. In this manner they found themselves standing in front of the Slytherin House Common Room, albeit not without a significantly long walk, and Em assured Draco the room was empty, because Corvus had told her so and he was never wrong. Draco would have questioned further, but settled for supplying the password so they could get inside.

It was hard to tell who was more relieved to collapse on the couch: the physically and emotionally drained Draco or the weak little girl Em who had been supporting half his weight during their hike through the school. Corvus flew up to rest on a marble bust of some Roman emperor; the bust tried to shake him off but failed. Doubtless the crow was silently trumpeting his victory over the statue.

Draco felt tired, very tired. When she had spoken to him, he had been instantly torn open and vulnerable, and that was something Draco Malfoy did not like.

"You can't be infallible every day, Draco," Em said, as if reading his mind (and he didn't doubt she had). "Remember the time in the Forbidden Forest with Harry when you were a first year? You ran into Voldemort in the woods over the unicorn and screamed and fled."

Draco's eyes widened and he stiffened somewhat. Em's hand was still around his back, as it had been during their trek to the common room, and in their mutual laziness they had not bothered to properly reposition themselves on the couch. This meant that she felt his every movement.

"Sorry, I'm being stupid again. Oh, and I forgot, I'm supposed to call him 'You-Know-Who.'" She gave Draco a bit of a squeeze. "Loosen up, kiddo."

"I won't bother to ask how you know that as well, but I will object to you calling me a kid. I'm not a kid. I'm Draco Malfoy."

"Just how old do you think I am, Draco?"

Well now, that was a question. He was fourteen and stood a little taller than her but, in his current position he could feel her fully-developed breast cushioning his side, so she clearly wasn't too young.

"Fifteen?" he ventured. She laughed.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or insulted. I've been mistaken for being two or three years younger than I actually am for my whole life. Must be because I'm so short. No, I'm eighteen, which means I can vote and smoke and I'm technically an adult in my own country. So, kid, you're a kid for now. Better enjoy it, too. Don't be too hasty to grow up. I know I'm not. I've seen too many idiot girls around me try to be eighteen when their fourteen and live miserable, pathetic little lives of no enlightenment. Feh."

"It's not just your height," he grumbled, half-serious.

There was silence for a few moments more (Where was everyone? wondered Draco. Must be something truly good for lunch today.) and then Em began to hum a little tune. Draco's head lolled to the side and he drifted off into slumber.

* * *

Well, I certainly hope you're proud of yourself.

Oh, get off it, Corvy, you stuck up, pompous little ass.

That's your_ stuck-up, pompous little ass._

A mental giggle. _Isn't he adorable when he's asleep?_

I've not the mind to be judging that. People are coming, though. Wait, no, they're passing us… Oh, dear, I fear my route of return may have been a little too long, for it seems everyone's in their classrooms.

Oh, good, then you can run and tell Snape where we are.

I've already talked once today; I won't do it again.

Fetch me pen and paper. I'll write it. Corvus did so, lifting the materials from the books of some unscrupulous Slytherin who had left their homework out in the open. He flew parchment and quill over to Em. Lazily, she scribbled out a message and handed it to her bird. _Fly safe, beloved Corvy._

Keep safe yourself, love, I'd hate to lose you again on account of your own stupidity.

A wry grin. _Go!_ Corvus took off like lightning, somehow managing to get out the door without human aid. That was a part of his magic, of course.

"Poor, stupid kid," Em mused softly to the empty air. "So much like myself. He doesn't even know what evil is."

* * *

When Draco did not show up for Potions class, Snape was naturally enraged, but he had to at least try to conduct the lesson. It was too soon to throw himself into a panic, after all, and panicking would hardly be an impressive display after his rage yesterday morning. Too many scenes in one week and the students might deign to question his sanity.

The lesson was some twenty minutes in and the classroom was filled with the sounds of quills on paper when the door opened and in came Em's bird, carrying a scrap of paper. The door closed automatically behind the crow (_How?_) and the bird swooped over the head of a Slytherin to land on Snape's desk. It deposited the note there.

Professor Snape,

Draco and I are in the Slytherin Common Room. He was not  
feeling well. I hope you enjoy your class without me; I'm sure  
you will. See you at dinner?

Until then,

-Em

P. S. I will finish my book report and have it to you tomorrow.  
Unless I finish it before then, in which case you will have it  
tonight. Either way, we both win.

Snape stared the message, crumpled it up, and threw it expertly over his shoulder without looking, hearing the satisfying ping-crunch as it struck the side of the trash can and went in. The bird cocked its head at Snape. Not wanting to appear the least bit charitable, he waved it away, so it flew to Em's table, picked up her papers in its beak, and scraped the book into one claw.

The bird was a sight as it winged itself out of the classroom, book, papers, and all.

* * *

more to come soon!


End file.
